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Ottawa’s top properties offer lots of bling

BY ANITA MURRAY, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN     FEBRUARY 28, 2012

Luxury living comes with pricetags in the millions

Can’t afford to slap down several million for a posh pad? Me neither, but it’s fun to fantasize. With that in mind, we searched the Multiple Listing Service on Feb. 14 to find the 12 most expensive homes for sale in Ottawa and Gatineau.

The priciest comes in at a whopping $9 million for Stoke Lacey, a waterfront home in Dunrobin built by developer Robert Campeau and once owned by high-tech tycoon Michael Cowpland. It’s been on the market for several years and is priced primarily for its development potential.

As for the least expensive — a charming Tudor in Rockcliffe Park — it still comes in at a healthy $2.95 million.

So who buys these swanky places?

They come from both near and far, says luxury real estate broker Marilyn Wilson (dreamproperties.com), who holds the record for the city’s most expensive sale — $8.25 million in 2005 for the Rockcliffe Park home of Antoine Paquin, another high-tech entrepreneur. It was also the wartime home of Dutch Princess Juliana, who later became queen.

“I love working with high-end buyers as they tend to be sophisticated, knowledgeable and opinionated,” says Wilson, who has listed half the homes in today’s top 12. “They are very observant and not afraid to discuss what they want.”

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