New York Penthouse's Price Could Reach Record Heights

We thought the $88 million that a Russian oligarch's daughter is set to pay for a Manhattan apartment would hold the record of most expensive NYC purchase for some time to come. After all, it did shatter the previous record of $53 million -- what J. Christopher Flowers shelled out for the Harkness Mansion in 2006.

But a recent Wall Street Journal report regarding a super-luxury penthouse slated to open its gilded doors for one lucky magnate sometime in 2013 suggests that this year's mind-boggling sale may be seriously outdone in only two years time.

The 90-story ONE57 tower that will be erected on West 57th Street opposite Carnegie Hall will house an $110 million penthouse overlooking Central Park, the Journal reports. The ask of the unit was recently raised by 12 percent, a price hike that observers attribute to Ekaterina Rybolovlev's recent $88 million purchase of Former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill's Central Park penthouse.

The penthouse will occupy the top two floors of the residential skyscraper and will feature a "grand salon" overlooking Central Park. An even larger duplex, priced at $105 million, will sit about 15 floors below the penthouse and will stretch 13,554 square feet.

The announcement follows a string of staggeringly expensive home sales in 2011. In addition to Ekaterina Rybolovlev's Manhattan purchase, Yuri Milner, another extremely wealthy Russian, may have set a national record by dropping a cool $100 million for a residence in Los Altos, Calif., this past March. Throw in Petra Ecclesone's $85 million purchase of Candy Spelling's manor and you've got quite a big year in the high-end market