Sales of luxury homes at the very high end are starting to pick up along with the broader real estate market. The numbers around the country in most markets support this, and we’re getting plenty of anecdotal evidence in various cities.
In Fort Lauderdale, the homes at the high end in the $1 million and above range are starting to move briskly according to our sources. While many listings are still well off their inflated highs from the 2008 crash, prices have clearly bottomed and now there’s robust competition for some of the best properties. Cash buyers naturally have an advantage but it appears now is the time to become more aggressive if you’re in the market.
Things are also very hot at the ultra high end as well. In a recent article, Forbes addressed the era of the $100 million house.
Once the daydream of fantasy-prone sellers, the $100 million house is becoming, well, not commonplace maybe, but not so rare.”I’m at the point where I’m calling this a new category of housing,” says Jonathan Miller, chief executive of New York real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, Inc.”It is something that’s come of age in the past two years in response to global economic turmoil, where wealthy individuals are looking for ways to invest, and ultra-high-end real estate seems to be the asset of choice.”
Two U.S. homes have broken past the $100 million threshold since the real estate downturn: a $100 million château in Los Altos Hills, Calif. that changed hands in 2011, and a hilltop estate in nearby Woodside, which quietly went for a staggering $117.5 million in November. Eight more listed with asking prices of $95 million and above are on the sale block, while several others, like financier Gary Winnick’s Bel Air manse, Casa Encantada (reportedly available for $225 million), are supposedly being shopped around as unofficial “pocket” listings.
As the article goes on to explain, location is key when you’re discussing these ultra expensive homes, along with the pedigree of former owners.
If you’ve been longing for that luxury first or second home and have been salivating over the reduced prices, you might want to start looking more closely as the market is definitely getting more competitive.
