By James Tarmy | Bloomberg

Amid dramatically negative changes in the US housing market, the spending habits of the very rich have stayed remarkably consistent.

The top 10 most expensive residential sales this year were—just like last year—spread among New York and the Hamptons, Los Angeles, and South Florida, according to a list compiled by Jonathan Miller, the president and chief executive officer of appraiser Miller Samuel.

“The footprint of these transactions appears to be firmly established,” says Miller, who notes that his list is provisional, given that late-breaking sales and updates are the norm. “It’s all the big three locations.” The only change, he says, is that top sales have begun to seep across South Florida, when in previous years they were in Palm Beach and Miami. “We have top sales in Manalapan, we have Coconut Grove and we have Coral Gables,” he says.

The top 10 list contains four houses in the Los Angeles area; three in the New York metropolitan area; and three in South Florida.

Second-Best Year on Record

Overall, 2022 was the second-highest year for sales of properties priced at $50 million and higher in history, according to Miller. (The best year ever was 2021.) This year, six properties sold for $100 million or more, whereas last year 10 did, according to Miller’s data. And 33 properties—at least as of Dec. 15, when he compiled the data—sold for $50 million or more, compared to 2021’s 49. Last year’s top 10 totaled $1.4 billion. This year’s total is a respectable $1.1 billion, about on par with 2019.

Miller chose not to include ranches in the list, which bumped out a few results, including the $170 million sale of the late T. Boone Pickens’s ranch. That decision was made, Miller explains, because many ranches are partly commercial operations, often with dozens of separate houses and outbuildings. “It strikes me as a different product,” he says. “The land is so much more of the property’s value than a single-unit residence.”

There was one change from last year: Houses at the very peak of the market seem to be getting smaller. “The median square footage this year is 15,819 square feet; last year it was 24,015 square feet,” Miller says, a 34% drop. “They’re getting cramped. Times are tough.”

Here are the top 10 US home sales of 2022:

10) 9475 Journeys End Rd. and 9501 Journeys End Lane in Coral Gables, Florida — $78 million

What that gets you: Two adjacent mansions—one sold for $34 million, the other for $44 million just days apart—were reported purchased by the parents of Amazon Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, although Miller notes that they were purchased by separate LLCs and the Bezos family’s involvement has not been confirmed. The cheaper house (“cheap” being a relative term here) has just under 13,000 square feet and six bedrooms. Property records for the more expensive house state that it contains five bedrooms and five bathrooms on just over 11,000 square feet.

9) 9904 Kip Dr in Beverly Hills, California — $75 million

What that gets you: Reportedly sold by the singer Robbie Williams and purchased by the rapper Drake, the property is a 20-acre compound with a main house that contains seven beds and 13 bathrooms, according to a previous listing. The house has more than 20,000 square feet, according to the listing.

8) Jala Penthouse at 730 Fifth Ave. in Midtown New York — $75.9 million

What that gets you: To the uninitiated, the word “penthouse” would imply that this apartment is at the top of the building. For years, though, the designation (at least, when used as a sales tool) has become vaguer and basically means “somewhere near the top.” Even if it’s not the highest apartment in the Aman New York’s new building on 57th Street, it’s certainly the fanciest, with more than 6,700 square feet and two terraces with views of Central Park.

7) 153 Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton, New York — $84.5 million

What that gets you: The 9-plus acre, oceanfront estate was sold by the financier Ron Perelman, who’s spent much of the last two years liquidating his vast trove of houses, boats, art and collectibles. This property has 385 feet of prime ocean frontage, and a main house that covers more than 11,000 square feet. It was first listed for $115 million.

6) 27628 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California — $100 million

What that gets you: The roughly 3.5-acre cliffside estate was reportedly sold by self-storage billionaire Tammy Hughes Gustavson to Allen Media founder Byron Allen. It totals about 11,000 square feet, with a four-bedroom main house and two guesthouses. In something unusual for the hilly area, a path down the cliffs from the house to the beach can apparently be navigated by golf cart.

5) 4 East 66th St. in New York City — $101 million

What that gets you: Assembled by Paul Allen, the late billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, the property is in fact two apartments he acquired over time. The sale took place off-market, so very little is known about the property other than it comprises the top two units of a co-op building overlooking Central Park, and that it was reportedly purchased by Julia Koch, widow of the late ultra-conservative mega donor David Koch.

4) 3031 and 3115 Brickell Avenue in Coconut Grove, Florida — $106.9 million

What that gets you: When philanthropist Adrienne Arsht sold her four-acre estate on Biscayne Bay for a Miami-Dade County record, it was reported that the buyer was none other than Ken Griffin, the founder of Citadel and a major South Florida booster. There are two houses on the property: One was built in 1913, and the other was built by Arsht in the late 1990s. Together, they have a reported 12 bedrooms across 25,000 square feet.

3) 10231 Charing Cross Rd. in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles — $119.9 million

What that gets you: The third-highest sale on Miller’s list is the one he says he knows the least about. It’s set on 3.5 acres—that much is more or less certain—but Miller says that there isn’t a property record for the sale. He derived his information from a report on Realtor.com, which said the sale closed on July 22 for a four-bedroom home covering more than 11,600 square feet. “We can’t find the property records, but there are indications that it closed for this amount,” he says.

2) 944 Airole Way in Bel Air, Los Angeles — $141 million

What that gets you: The second-highest sale of the year was nevertheless a major disappointment, at least to its original developer. Before the 21-bedroom, 49-bath estate came onto the market, its developer announced that he would ask $500 million for the property, which he dubbed “the One”; when it did come onto the market, the list price was $295 million. The property was sold unfinished at auction after the developer’s firm declared bankruptcy.

1) 2000 South Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan, Florida — $173 million

What that gets you: Netscape co-founder Jim Clark reportedly sold the 16-acre compound to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, setting a Florida record in the process. (Needless to say, both are billionaires.) The compound spans the width of the island—Manalapan is about a 20-minute drive south of Palm Beach—and includes a 62,000-square-foot, 12-bedroom main house, along with multiple guest and staff cottages.

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