In the small city-state of Monaco, perched on a hillside overlooking the harbor, a cotton candy-pink mansion is a rare throwback to the days when the region first emerged as a haven for the super rich.

Known as "Villa l’Echauguette," the home, now on the market for $125 million, was owned by the family of François Blanc, the so-called "magician of Monte Carlo," according to Alexander Kraft, chairman of Sotheby’s International Realty France-Monaco.

Believed to have been built amid a building boom in the 1880s, the villa is one of the country’s last remaining Belle Époque mansions. Many others have since been subdivided or torn down.

Roughly 8,200 square feet across six floors, it contains six bedrooms, a library, a study, a wine cellar, two elevators and a large living room that opens onto a private terrace.

The grounds include a roughly 70-foot-long pool, a Jacuzzi and an outdoor kitchen, rare amenities for the area. There is also a rooftop terrace with views over the Monaco yacht harbor and the Princely Palace.

The current owners, an Eastern European couple, bought the home in the mid-2000s and plowed millions into a two-year renovation.

The home is one of the most expensive ever listed for sale in Monaco, though it wouldn’t set records.

In 2010, British property developers Christian and Nick Candy sold La Belle Epoque, a Monte Carlo penthouse spanning about 17,500 square feet, for roughly $313 million.

Monaco residential real estate is among the most expensive in the world, thanks in part of the size of the city-state, which is just about half the size of New York’s Central Park.

Therefore, the supply of housing is limited. Mr. Kraft said the average resale price of a home is almost $5 million, or five times the Manhattan average.

Monaco sees only about 400 residential home sales each year, and about 95% of those are apartment sales, Mr. Kraft said. Historic villas rarely come on the market, he said.

Mr. Kraft said the market has been strong over the past year, as investors look for a haven for capital amid stock market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty.

Via WSJ - Katherine Clarke

Photos : CIC immobilier Monte Carlo Sotheby’s International Realty