Buyers lining up for Edinburgh flat with views worth £2m

SCOTLAND'S most expensive apartment is set to go on the market on the site of the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The three-storey penthouse is part of the latest stage of the Quartermile development and will have a price tag of at lease £2 million.

It is due to come on to the market in the summer and developers say they have already had strong interest in it.

Despite concerns about the strength of the property market, agents say demand at the top end has been maintained and are confident a sale will be made.

The four-bedroom triplex is part of Q16, a new-build between the converted Blake Hall and Balfour Hall buildings.

Among the features expected in the apartment are air conditioning, a surround-sound TV and hi-fi system with speakers in every room, solid oak flooring and even a tile television in the master bedroom's en suite bathroom.

But the biggest selling point is expected to be the 360-degree views across the Meadows, up to Edinburgh Castle and across to Arthur's Seat, Blackford Hill and Salisbury Crags.

Aisling Dunphy, sales and marketing director for Quartermile developer Gladedale Capital, said: "The location and the view is what stuns people. The view up there is unrivalled."

Faisal Choudhry, a researcher for estate agent Savills, said £2m could buy a New Town townhouse or a detached home in a good area with up to two acres of land. He said: "They are very expensive but within any new-build development there is always the one-off penthouse, and I would expect there to be buyers in the market.

"There is nothing wrong with exploiting the premiums that people will pay for views across Edinburgh.

"It remains to be seen if an apartment can attract £2m. It is a big asking price and it might happen because it is a one-off, but it will have to be a lot bigger than the penthouses that sold for £1.5m."

The penthouse will be part of the next phase of the scheme to come on to the market. The newly-built structure will house 28 flats of varying sizes and is next to the 25-flat conversion of Balfour Hall.

Penthouses in the previous new-build properties, High Meadows, have sold for up to £1.5m.

Further development on the site could include even bigger – and more expensive – penthouse apartments, depending on demand for the next phase.

WHAT COULD YOU BUY FOR YOUR £2M?
A townhouse on the same street as Robert Louis Stevenson used to live – 7 Heriot Row – sold for £1.95m last year.

• A detached family home with two acres of land at 64 Dreghorn Loan fetched £2m in March 2007.

• A 1914 detached family home in Colinton – The Stonehouse at 1 Pentland Road – sold for £2.05m last year.

• 40 one-bedroom flats in Bo'ness, currently on the market for offers over £49,995

• 13 bookies' shops – Edinburgh bookmaker Morrisons bought the Scottish operations of Irish counterpart Sean Graham for £2m in March.

• Kevin Thomson – the former Hibs midfielder signed for Rangers for £2m in January 2007

• The right to make Hearts' football strip. Umbro paid the Jambos £2m in February 2007 for the rights to manufacture kits for two years