In Vancouver's frothy, full-tilt real-estate market, residents are used to record-breaking price increases that force ordinary homebuyers to pay more for less.

But even high-end luxury condo buyers aren't immune to the market's effects: Behold, the advent of the $10 million, two-bedroom apartment.

The Presido penthouse at 2088 Barclay Street has hit the market at a scorching $9.8 million.

If offers for the two-floor, custom-designed suite come anywhere near the asking price, this hot property would smoke the city's earlier condo records -- the Two Harbour Green penthouse that sold in 2005 for $7.75 million, and the Shangri-La penthouse that went for $7.4 million the same year.

What do you get in a $10 million apartment? Well, at 4,046 square feet, the property is no Yaletown shoebox special. (Most highrise studio dwellers could live comfortably in the Presido's closet. And the monthly maintenance fees of $1,557 are likely more than their mortgages.)

Elite buyers will be willing to pay for the privilege of living where sky, sea and Stanley Park meet, according to owner and developer Robert Quigg of The Quigg Group. That's how he was hooked.

"I walked in and I saw the view and I thought I had to have it," he says, standing in his glassed-in library overlooking half the city.

After Quigg bought the property two and a half years ago, he and his design team gutted it to the tune of $5-million and refitted it with decadent materials and exclusive features -- there's nary a scrap of drywall or paint in the house.

The furniture, Quigg notes, is included. And, he adds, there's no GST. A deal, really, considering buyers of top-end condos typically pay tax on presale showhomes then drop a few million on custom-fitting.

Besides, in Vancouver's frenzied market, this property's far from the priciest. The home at 130 Oxley Street South in West Vancouver was assessed in 2006 at $19,118,000.

While first-time homebuyers may despair at each quarter's stratospheric price gains, and the latest TD Bank market study reports Vancouver and Victoria are showing "signs of a bubble," Quigg says the luxury-living market is booming with wealthy residents and jet-setters who see the city as a bargain.

"We're the most livable city in the world, but we're not the most expensive city," he says. "I think there's a real demand for quality and trophy properties."

Amenities Galore

What's in an apartment worth $10 million?

- 360-degree views

- 11-feet ceilings

- 2 storeys

- 10-seat hot tub with waterfall

- 5 balconies

- 2 bedrooms

- 2.5 bathrooms

- gourmet kitchen

- 900-bottle wine cabinets

- private elevator foyer

- floor-to-ceiling windows

- sunken bar

- 2 fireplaces

- media room

- lounge

- library

- private study

- 2 walk-in closets

- hidden laundry room

- outdoor kitchen

- fully wired home with monitors controlling hidden lights, speakers, security and temperature

- top finishes: heated limestone floors, limed oak paneling, stainless steel staircase, leather ceilings, bluestone patios

- custom furnishings: 2 Sub-Zero fridges, Viking outdoor range king-plus bed, plasma TV, $360,000 A/V system, goat-skin tables, sterling silver grout.

© The Vancouver Province 2006