A LUXURY two-floor penthouse flat that will overlook the docks of Ipswich could become the most expensive apartment ever sold in the town after it was put on the market for £725,000.

A LUXURY two-floor penthouse flat that will overlook the docks of Ipswich could become the most expensive apartment ever sold in the town after it was put on the market for £725,000.

The 2,000 square foot flat, which has not yet been built, will take up the eighth and ninth floors of the Neptune Marina building which is under construction in Ipswich's docklands.

Comprising an eighth-floor open plan living and kitchen area, balcony, cloakroom, three ninth-floor bedrooms, two bathrooms and a private ninth floor roof terrace, the property will be out of the reach of the masses.

First-time buyers would need to be earning in the region of £200,000 a year to successfully apply for a mortgage on the penthouse, so instead, estate agents FPD Savills are marketing it at city slickers, luxury yacht owners and wealthy young footballers.

Although no-one has yet to show any interest in the flat, which is expected to be built by the end of this year, FPD Savills director Richard Aldous, said he expected the asking price would be met.

He said: “It will be the topmost flat in what will be the tallest building in the town. It will be very secure and very low maintenance and that will appeal to a lot of people.

“The buyer will be someone with vision and ability to see how superb the property will be with its stunning views across the whole of Ipswich.

“He or she will be someone who perhaps spends much of their year living in a golf course villa in Spain, who wants to come back for a couple of months at Christmas - back to something simple, but special.

“Or maybe he will be a single young man with a lot of money - perhaps a footballer,” he added.

At £362 per square foot, the property eclipses current waterfront property values, which have peaked at around £350 a square foot, but this new flat demands a higher premium, Mr Aldous explained.

Colin Girling, secretary for the Suffolk branch of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: “How they have calculated this price is beyond me. These waterfront properties are a law unto themselves - and I don't think their values are sustainable.”

Interested parties with the means to afford three-quarter million-pound properties might also want to consider else they could get for their money.

Instead of the town centre flat, five miles away in Little Blakenham, one could snap up Broomvale Farm, a grade II-listed Georgian mansion.

Although it does not come complete with a roof terrace, the seller of the eight-bedroom farmhouse is throwing in 19 acres of mature gardens and meadows for the £745,000 asking price.

However, Jonathan Penn, a partner with estate agents Jackson-Stops and Staff, said: “The penthouse and the house cater for completely different lifestyles. But I know what I'd prefer,” he added.