London, Aug. 3: The world’s most expensive streets places Kensington Palace Gardens in London at number four – Lakshmi Mittal has bought three properties here – and Altamount Road in Mumbai, where Mukesh Ambani is building his tall palace, at No. 10.

According to the Wealth Bulletin, “the bursting of the housing market bubble is causing increasing concern among a widening spectrum of the population, but for the really wealthy the downturn might have little or no impact on the prices they are paying for property”.

The Wealth Bulletin, which provides online information on what the rich are up to, offers blunt advice: “If you want to live in the best accommodation in these streets you will need to be a billionaire, or not far behind.”

Commenting on the research done by the Wealth Bulletin, Trevor Abrahmsohn, of Glentree, a celebrated London estate agent whose patch includes The Bishop’s Avenue (nicknamed “millionaires’ row”), said that it was important to draw a distinction between “working homes” and “holiday homes”.

“For Indians, because of cultural and logistical reasons, London will be always be number two after the main residence in Delhi or Bombay, sometimes more important even than the Indian home,” said Abrahmsohn.

After London, he listed New York, where the “more sophisticated” tended to buy an apartment, he said. When looking for holiday homes, Monaco, the South of France, parts of Spain, the Caribbean, California and Palm Beach in Florida (where Abrahmsohn himself has a holiday residence), were popular with the very rich.

Wealth Bulletin has not made a distinction between working and holiday homes.

It says: “Take for example Avenue Princess Grace in Monaco – the world’s most expensive street. Properties on the avenue change hands for up to $41m – and many of them are fairly modest four-bedroom apartments. This implies that top apartments sell for an eye-watering Dollar190,000 per square metre.”

It goes on: “The world’s second-most expensive street is Severn Road, located on The Peak in Hong Kong, where the best properties with spectacular views of the city change hands for around $120,000 per square metre. Expect to pay around $80,000 per square metre if you want to live in the world’s third most expensive street – Fifth Avenue in New York City.”

Fourth place goes to Kensington Palace Gardens in London – often referred to as “Billionaires Row”.

“Houses on this street might sell for some of the highest prices in the world, but the more generous supply of space means you get more square metres for your money than in Monaco and Hong Kong,” claims the Wealth Bulletin. “For a prime property in Kensington Palace Gardens you’re looking at $77,000 per square metre.”

“We estimate that you would need around $200m to buy one of the smartest Victorian mansions on KPG, as estate agents call it,” the Wealth Bulletin goes on.

It points out: “Lakshmi Mittal, the billionaire steel magnate, owns two houses (actually, it’s three now) on KPG. He bought his first house there in 2004 from Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One racing boss, and paid £57m for the 18-bedroom mansion. Estate agents believe the 5,100 square metre virtual stately home in central London would go for at least £200m ($396m) in the current market, making its one square metre value at around $77,000.”

There are incentives: “Those rich enough to live in KPG get a private road with excellent security – the Russian and Israeli embassies are at either end of the street. But they might have to deal with extra levels of radiation reputedly emanating from embassies on the street due to the abundance of sophisticated listening devices.”

Next come Avenue Montaigne, Paris ($54,000 per sq/m); Ostozhenka, Moscow $40,000 per sq/m; Via Suvretta, St Moritz ($38,000 per sq/m); Carolwood Drive, LA, $30,000 and, at number nine, Wolseley Road, Sydney ($28,000 per sq/m).

“Altamount Road in India’s financial and business capital Mumbai rounds off Wealth-Bulletin’s survey in 10th place,” it is revealed. “The tree-lined street in the south of the city has always been a popular choice for homes of India’s very rich. But the street was catapulted into the ranks of the world’s most expensive when India’s wealthiest individual Mukesh Ambani unveiled plans last year to build a residential apartment block on the street at a cost of around Dollar1bn.”

According to the Wealth Bulletin, “the extraordinary 27 floor building, called Antilia, will be as high as a normal 60 floor skyscraper, have elevated gardens and three helicopter pads. Prices in Antilia are likely to be at least $25,000 per square metre – possibly even more.”