Luxury Homes Market in US Attracts Foreign Buyers

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, these may be the best of times and the worst of times.  All the reports are telling us that the subprime mortgage meltdown has turned the industry upside down.  But it hasn't impacted the luxury home market as heavily as it has the other sectors of the real estate industry.  The bottom line - the buyers of luxury homes have the necessary capital to purchase.  In addition, with the strength of the Euro and the Pound against the U.S. dollar, we are beginning to see the British and others from abroad to invest in our luxury homes.  And the Europeans aren’t the only ones singing the praises of the luxury market.

Toll Brothers, the largest builder of luxury homes in the country, remains bullish about the long term expansion of the luxury housing market. They point to several key factors:

·        $100,000+ income households are growing 5.4 times faster than all U.S. households.

·        Baby Boomers, the driving force behind the luxury home expansion are now in their prime move up home buying years.

·        Household growth is expected to accelerate from about 12.6 million over the past ten years to about 14.6 million over the next ten.

In a survey released by the American Affluence Research Center, the wealthiest 10% of Americans feel positive about their likelihood of buying and investing in real estate over the next twelve months. In fact, according to the report, luxury home purchases could top 1.1 million homes by May 2008 equaling 16 percent of all homes sales. This includes 49 percent of the new construction market and 11 percent of the pre-owned home market. Download the entire report!

According to a recent article in Money News … The luxury home market is an economic anomaly. High-end homes are selling quickly and at prices that are breaking previous records.  Amazingly, there are not enough luxury homes on the market to satisfy millionaires who want to buy yet another trophy home.

If this is true, then the question is … are you ready to take advantage of the opportunity?  Do you have the knowledge and the tools?

They have both been available for the past two years through the RealtyU Network of schools in conjunction with the Luxury Home Council.  They offer a two-day course entitled the Accredited Luxury Home Specialist, which leads to the awarding of the ALHS Designation.   And now, according to Allen Wright, SVP of RealtyU, “This highly sought after course is now available online in a highly interactive format utilizing the latest in techniques in combining streaming video, flash, audio and online interaction.  We have just released the course online and are seeing tremendous interest from real estate professionals all across the country.  More and more folks just want to control their learning environment and access the material when and where it’s convenient for them and their schedule.”

The ALHS course examines the national trends and specialized needs of the buyers and sellers in the luxury home segment.  It prepares the student to develop and deliver unique high level services, deal with representation, liability and risk management issues that are unique to this market.  It details the unique aspects concerning builder services, personal marketing, servicing and marketing the luxury home listing as well as negotiating and managing the luxury home transaction.

With the completion of the ALHS course, agents are empowered to join an elite membership of real estate professionals that are knowledgeable and capable of effectively serving the affluent high-end market client.  Ongoing membership of the Luxury Home Council provides continuous support, counseling and information of this very important market segment. 

If you are not yet benefiting from this slice of the market, now may be the best time to get involved.