The unusual, three-bedroom property is moored on the River Thames by Wandsworth Park
2 min
For nautically inclined house hunters, this London houseboat that’s floating just off the south bank of the River Thames, might be the ideal investment.
On the market for £1.65 million (US$2.1 million), the three-bedroom vessel is moored just next to Wandsworth Park, according to the listing with Knight Frank, which brought the unorthodox home to the market at the beginning of this month.
Houseboats “rarely appear on the market, but when they do they attract a specific buyer who is after a unique way of living,” said Sarah Bennett, associate in Knight Frank’s Battersea and Riverside office. “This houseboat comes to market in excellent condition and contrary to any stereotypes, it is very spacious.”
At almost 2,000 square feet of living space, the houseboat is roughly twice the size of the average London dwelling, which, according to government statistics, is about 904 square feet. The two-story home has a light-filled reception room, a fully equipped kitchen and dining room, and three decks, including a sprawling roof terrace with city and water views.
The bedrooms are on the lower level, and include a primary suite with a walk-in wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom—both of the boat’s two bathrooms are large enough to accommodate bathtubs—and a study, complete with wine storage, could easily be converted into a fourth bedroom, according to the listing.
Mansion Global couldn’t determine who owns the property, or when it last changed hands.
Other amenities include an automatic boat launcher, “offering ease of access for aquatic adventures,” and the mooring is securely gated and privately owned “so the houseboat comes with a share of the freehold of the mooring,” the listing said.
Owning a share of the mooring gives greater security of tenure, unlike cruising licenses, where you have to move your boat regularly, Mansion Global previously reported.
Residents can also “enjoy external facilities that come with mooring rights such as access to the gym and swimming pool at [nearby] Prospect Quay,” Bennett said.
In London, houseboats “offer the remarkable experience of living right next to the action of city life whilst also being amongst nature, truly the best of both worlds,” she added.
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A five-bedroom Palo Alto home designed by Steven Ehrlich is listed for $44 million, making it the city’s most expensive listing. Built around a dramatic concrete spine, the home features four courtyards and a pool.
3 min
For years, tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, dreamed of building a modern house in Palo Alto, Calif.
The couple, however, worried about clashing with the Mediterranean-style architecture typically associated with their neighborhood of Old Palo Alto.
So they tapped architect Steven Ehrlich to create a design that paid homage to its surroundings with stucco, mahogany and titanium zinc cladding. They spent $20 million over several years building the house, completed in 2005.
Now looking to be closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast, they are putting the five-bedroom home on the market for $44 million—the most expensive listing in Palo Alto.
Waldfogel is an angel investor who co-founded Redback Networks, a telecommunications-equipment company. MacLean previously had a career in fundraising.
The couple purchased the roughly 0.4-acre site for $7.1 million in 2000 and demolished a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home. The house they built pinwheels around a central staircase. It has 7,900 square feet of livable space, with four distinct courtyards and a pool.
A key feature of the home is a cast-in-place concrete wall, or spine, that is two stories high and about 80 feet long. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” unlike a perfectly uniform surface, Waldfogel said. “If you want that, you do it in plastic.”
Waldfogel said he and his wife are thinking about the next phase of life now that their daughter is grown, although they have not decided where they will move. They also have a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.
“Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.
Palo Alto, an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups in Silicon Valley, is home to some of the country’s biggest tech titans. Sales volume and prices are rising, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, up 5.8% year-over-year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.
Arthur Sharif of Sotheby’s International Realty—San Francisco Brokerage has the listing.
