Luxury Homebuyer Trends

June 19, 2007

REAL Trends, Inc. recently reported the results of The 2007 Membership Survey of Luxury Housing Market Trends. I found the results to be quite interesting.

• The largest percentage of luxury homebuyers falls into the 40-50 age group (48%) followed closely by the 50-65 age group (44%).
• The most common occupation of luxury homebuyers is that of an entrepreneur (51%), followed by large business executive (46%) or medical doctor (24%).
• The number one service affluent homebuyers are interested in receiving from their luxury home specialist is help in finding a home (86%) followed by help in managing the transaction (56%) and expert counsel during a negotiation (43%).
• The typical luxury homebuyer makes a large cash investment in his or her home purchase amounting to more than a third of the overall purchase price. In many metro markets this would exceed a quarter of a million dollars. This compares to the median amount financed by all buyers in 2006 of 91 percent of the purchase price.
• The average luxury homebuyer spends 11 weeks looking for a home and views 12 homes.
• Luxury homebuyers on average search for homes consisting of at least 3,500-4,000 square feet, with 4-5 bedrooms and 3-4 bathrooms.
• The amenities most popular with luxury homebuyers include gourmet kitchens (95%), master bedroom suites (86%), specialty construction items (66%), high-end appliance packages (64%), home office suites (58%) and home theater rooms (55%).
• The average listing price for luxury homes is nearly $900,000 dollars, or more than four times than the median price of all U.S. homes as of May 15, 2007 ($212,300).

Source: REAL Trends, Inc.