– I saw the potential as soon as I saw the apartment. It is located, so to speak, on the quay, with a view of Tromsøsundet, the Arctic Cathedral and Tromsdalstinden.
– A real “postcard view”, says property developer Ole Kristian Mortensen (45) about the apartment he will now sell in the center of Tromsø.
The asking price for the 176 square meter apartment is NOK 24.9 million.
POSTCARD: The apartment with a suggested price of 24.9 million has a view of Tromsø Sound, the Arctic Cathedral and Tromsdal Stinden (at the back of the picture). Photo: Daniel Berg Fosseng / TV 2
A year of renovation
The Tromsø man bought the apartment in 2020 – the same year he sold “Villa Telegrafbukta”, which with a sale sum of over 25 million became the most expensive detached house ever sold in Tromsø.
After a long period of renovation of the apartment, he and his family moved into the fifth floor of the six-storey residential complex in Tromsø’s inner harbour.
The renovation was done in collaboration with a local interior designer. She took on the task of drawing and planning what Mortensen calls a “concept”, where all the furnishings are designed and site-built by local craftsmen, and the furniture is specially made by a local furniture manufacturer.
– The idea now is to sell a fully equipped apartment that people can just take their clothes with them and move straight into, he says.
EXCLUSIVE: Most of the furnishings are designed and built on site. Photo: Ulrikke Lorentzen (the image is taken from the housing advertisement)
Only two bedrooms
The property advertisement otherwise entices with exclusivity, a central location, bar area, two bathrooms and two sunny balconies.
– But there are only two bedrooms. Isn’t that a bit short for a home of 176 square metres?
– It depends on the eye that sees, says estate agent Kristian Ytreberg at DNB Eiendom in Tromsø to TV 2.
– But this is a home that is designed for an adult couple, with everything on one level. And this customer group usually needs at least one bedroom, in addition to a guest room, says the estate agent.
TWO BEDROOMS: One bedroom has a bath. Photo: Ulrikke Lorentzen (the image is taken from the housing advertisement)
Narrow buying group
– Close to 25 million; it is a rare high price range, for Tromsø to be?
– It is a high price range, and we have very few of this type of housing in the city, says Ytreberg, adding that he expects it will take some time to sell such an expensive home.
– The buying group is narrow, and we have to go wider with marketing than usual. That is why we have gone to several brokers in DNB. In addition, we have spent a few kroner on advertising on an international luxury marketplace, he says.
And the luxury ad has taken off, we are to believe the broker.
– Tromsø has become a popular city for tourists from many countries, and right after we published the ad, we were contacted by serious actors who are interested. It is buying brokers from European countries who contact us on behalf of their clients, he says.
Russian buyer?
What does owner Mortensen himself think about the sale?
– It just has to take the time it takes. Maybe he Andrey Yakunin is interested, says the seller.
He is thinking of the Russian oligarch’s son who was prosecuted for flying a drone in Svalbard last autumn, but was later acquitted.
– He still has his sailboat on the dock here. Maybe he needs a base in Tromsø?, he says jokingly.
Andrew’s boss was imprisoned on the way from Spitsbergen
Most expensive in the east and west
TV 2 has done a quick Finn search on the asking prices for the most expensive homes in the biggest cities in Norway.
In Bodø, there is currently a villa on the market with an asking price of 29.5 million, while on Øvre Singsaker in Trondheim there is a villa on the market for 28 million.
In the west, “Villa Charlotte” in Hjellestad outside Bergen reigns at the price peak, with a suggested price of about double that of the homes in the three cities further north, namely 59 million.
In the city of Stavanger, there are four new apartment buildings with suggested prices ranging from NOK 5.95 to 45 million.
In Oslo, there is an exclusive, 100 square meter “penthouse” apartment on Tjuvholmen that tops the list with an asking price of 45 million.
The search has not taken into account location, the condition and size of the properties and other conditions in the comparisons above.
