Today’s luxury homebuyer is smart, savvy and keenly aware of what makes their house a home.
From tech-friendly amenities to outdoor living spaces, luxury buyers are investing time and money into a home that fits their needs and lifestyle.
Gone are the days of sinking each hard-earned dollar into the stock market. Today’s luxury buyer is betting heavily on the housing market, seeing it as a solid long-term investment.
In a Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate survey released this week, the value consumers place on homeownership is evident.
“The luxury consumer is considered a trendsetter in most industries, and to see the strong connection this consumer has with ‘home’ is very significant as we look at the real estate market as a whole,” said Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC.
Below are five ways our survey revealed that luxury homebuyers are forging fresh trends!
5 Key Survey Findings
1. Tech-Friendly Homes are the Future
Eighty-seven percent of luxury homebuyers surveyed said they would not consider living in a home if it was not technology friendly and 66 percent said they would prefer a smart home over a green one.
A smart home is all about technological systems that can provide day-to-day efficiencies. For example, consumers want the convenience of turning up their heat or opening their garage door with their Smartphone or tablet.
2. Square Footage is Out and Amenities are In
Luxury homebuyers are foregoing the oversized and often ostentatious McMansion and instead shifting their focus toward amenities.
In point of fact, 94 percent of homeowners said amenities are so important that they would be willing to trade a sizeable chunk of their square footage for a better neighborhood, the ability to live in a house with “character,” attaining a larger lot, a shorter commute to work or easier access to dining and entertainment.
3. Multiple Homes are a Lifestyle Choice
As the real estate market continues to provide significant investment opportunities, luxury buyers are diving in and purchasing multiple homes to meet their lifestyle needs.
Whether it is a ski home or a home they can enjoy during the summer months majority of luxury homeowners surveyed (53{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}) prefer owning multiple “lifestyle” homes to support lifestyle activities. In fact, more than half (58{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}) of luxury homebuyers already own multiple homes to support their lifestyle interests.
4. The Great Outdoors
As today’s homebuyer continues to mesh the outdoors with their indoor lifestyle; luxury buyers say an appealing outdoor space is vital.
Three of the top five luxury home “essentials” is outdoor related including a garden oasis (53{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}), outdoor fireplace or fire pit (50{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}) and a separate guest house outside of the main home (47{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}).
5. Increased Need for Personalized Service
Luxury homebuyers have an increased need to get more out of their relationship with a real estate professional. While they still rely on the agent to guide them through all aspects of acquiring a home such as legal, financial, and real estate issues, they are also looking to their agent for more acute information than ever before.
Their needs include insight into neighborhood lifestyle (65{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}), advanced new listing notices (64{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}), advice on housing trends (55{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}) and support on a personal level throughout the buying process (53{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c})
One additional finding is the fact that 93 percent of luxury homeowners believe their house is the best one on their block proving that pride in homeownership is indeed alive and well!
The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Luxury Homes Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 500 luxury homebuyers, between May 20 and June 4, 2013, using an email invitation and an online survey.
Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation.
The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
