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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2009
Christie’s Great Estates Affiliate Posts €61,200,000 Sale to Smash Caribbean Mark and Achieve Reported 2009 World High
Sibarth Real Estate in St. Barthélemy, French West Indies, sells the 70-acre Gouverneur Bay estate sited on land originally purchased by David Rockefeller
 Gustavia, St. Barthélemy — The sale of a €61,200,000 (approximately US$89,000,000) estate was recently announced by Sibarth Real Estate, the Christie’s Great Estates affiliate on St. Barthélemy in the French West Indies. The price is three times the previous record for the Caribbean and establishes what is believed to be the highest price in 2009 for a private residence worldwide.
The names of the buyer and seller were not released.
“Trophy properties continue to command the attention of buyers around the globe,” says Kay Coughlin, President of Christie’s Great Estates. “This sale affirms that our carefully selected international affiliates are indeed the leading high-value real estate experts in their local markets.”
Perfectly sited on 70 lush acres and stretching the entire length of one of St. Barth’s most coveted beaches, this sprawling private estate with multiple bunglows on Gouverneur Bay offers the ultimate in privacy and tranquillity. David Rockefeller bought the land in the 1960’s. The property has since changed hands only four times.
Gouverneur Bay is a classified green zone, so scattering small Colonial-style buildings across the property offered the best way to preserve the natural landscape. With a Balinese-inspired design, each house is surrounded by a verandah on at least three sides and constructed primarily of tropical timbers, such as Guyanese teak, mahogany, and green heart, with indigenous stone. Tucked among the trees, the estate is barely visible from the road, and a wall of greenery shields it from visitors to Gouverneur Bay. The estate is appointed with a swimming pool, tennis courts, a barbecue area, music and dining pavilions where guests congregate, and a private park with walkways and statuaries.
“In late 2008,” says Christian Wattiau, Managing Partner of Sibarth Real Estate, “the global financial crisis presented a unique opportunity to acquire this seminal property. Our challenge was to serve both buyer and seller by promoting this estate’s short-term value without discounting its long-term investment qualities.”
As the leading agency on the island, Sibarth Real Estate has sold the island’s most important homes and villas over the past 30 years, including Gitana Bay, a 7.5-acre beachfront property in Marigot developed by Benjamin de Rothschild. Gitana Bay sold for US$21,400,000 in 2005 to set a new record for real estate sales in St Barth’s.
Sibarth Real Estate broke its own mark two years later in 2007 with the sale of a new luxury villa along famed Flamands Beach for €23,000,000. That same year, an extraordinary three-bedroom villa in an exclusive development established by Edmond de Rothschild was also sold by Sibarth Real Estate, for US$22,000,000.
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Categories: Press Releases, Sales of Distinction, Affiliate News |
