The most expensive house sold in 2006 was an English-style, 10,000-square-foot Alpine, N.J., mansion with guest cottages, pool, and tennis courts, according to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

The price tag for the 63-acre estate five miles from Manhattan: $58 million. Advanced Photonix CEO Richard Kurtz bought this year’s top seller from Henry Clay Frick II.

In 2005, the priciest house was an oceanfront estate that sold for $70 million to Ron Perelman of Palm Beach, Fla.

The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing estimates — from not-yet-complete data — that 2006 sales of homes priced at $5 million and above were up about 11 percent over 2005. And at least 10 buyers throughout the country were willing to shell out $28 million or more for high-end residences last year.

Source: Dow Jones Business News, Amy Hoak (01/08/07)