Far out Friday: The most expensive house ever sold

A Paris chateau has been sold for the highest amount ever recorded - almost half a billion dollars, if you give or take a couple of million…

The Chateau Louis XIV may look like it’s stood the test of time since the 17th century but it was completed resembling the era’s style in 2011 in honour of Louis the Great and has been sold for a crisp NZ$444 million.

The estate, situated between Versailles and Marly-le-Roi on a 57 acre section, was purchased by a Middle Eastern buyer, according to the Daily Mail.

The sale of the Chateau bumped off the previous record holder by NZ$118million, which was a London penthouse that sold for $NZ326 million.

Features of the glamorous residence include a ballroom, nightclub, wine cellar, squash court, home cinema and underwater room, while marble is used on the floors, bathrooms and for a statue of Louis the Great.

For the equivalent price, one could swap the Paris chateau for about 580 Auckland homes, where the average house price is currently around $765,000, the NZ Herald reports. 

One of New Zealand’s largest farms, Lochinver Station in the central North Island, holds a value of over $70 million. 

The 13,843-hectare sheep and beef station is complete with three airstrips; 22 houses which accommodate the families of 20 permanent staff; a staff recreation centre; 91kms of pumice roads; six cattle yards; three woolsheds and multiple other farm buildings; a lake and a recreational hunting block, according to the NZ Herald. 

But for those after more of a “chateau” experience, the $35 million property on Clifton Road in Takapuna has been marketed as possibly "the finest private residence" in New Zealand, with nine bathrooms, five bedrooms and eight car spaces.