Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, a Realogy brand, along with the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® Program—with insights from The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing—recently released an in-depth report of emerging luxury markets and buyers: “The Report: 2021 Global Luxury Market Insights.”
“The luxury real estate market showed its resilience through a dynamic year as the market accelerated many ongoing trends that were already occurring. The report highlights the achievements of 2020 and uses the rich insights from 78 luxury property specialists across 65 markets—a record for us,” said Craig Hogan, vice president of Luxury at Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “With these timely perspectives, our luxury property specialists can prepare for what’s to come in 2021 and continue to act as trusted advisors as many shifting buyer trends and preferences are here to stay.”
Several new trends surfaced in 2020 amid the pandemic, according to the report. Buyers sought out properties with access to the outdoors, privacy and additional space. Demand for mega mansions, estates and other luxury compounds increased. Of the property specialists surveyed for the report, 55% said more square footage was the No. 1 amenity that “flipped demand in 2019 to 2020.” Additionally, a new demographic known as Trailblazers are driving the shifting buying trends, migrating away from urban centers and seeking out smaller, hidden-gem towns in the suburbs and second-home destinations.
Over the next five years, survey respondents for The Institute and Coldwell Banker predict these trends are here to stay: the home office (27.5%), demand for a second home (22.5%) and the desire for a single-family detached home (22.5%).
“2020 was a transformative for the luxury real estate market. We saw record-low interest rates paired with demand at an all-time high for single-family homes, resulting in extremely low inventory levels and multiple bidding wars across several luxury markets,” said Jade Mills, president of Jade Mills Estates and international ambassador of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury®. “The emergence of a new affluent demographic and type of homebuyer fueled this growth driven by shifting lifestyle preferences. Many of the trends we saw at the forefront in 2020 will continue to evolve in the years to come.”
Four hotspots among the report’s Top 10 “Power Markets” of 2020 include:
East Bay, California
This area scored highly due to soaring home sales in both the single-family and attached sectors. The sales ratio rose over 100% in July.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Growth here was fueled by millennials and out-of-state buyers. The sales ratio (38.84%) remained consistent with luxury single-family homes in demand.
Fairfax County, Virginia
There was only one month of inventory for $645,000-plus townhomes in December, and even less for homes in the $1M-plus category. The sales ratio was 51.93% for attached homes.
King County, Washington
Pent-up demand led to a 37.7% sales ratio at asking price.
Additionally, the report highlighted four key categories of emerging markets across the luxury home sector:
Secondary Markets on the Rise
– Phoenix, Ariz.
– Denver, Colo.
– Dallas, Texas
Markets Exceeding Expectations
– Salt Lake City, Utah
– Sacramento, Calif.
– St. Louis, Mo.
New Discoveries
– Burlington, Vt.
– Reno, Nev.
– Coeur D’Alene, Ida.
Ready for Discovery
– San Antonio, Texas
– Knoxville, Tenn.
– Hamilton County, Ind.
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor. Email her your real estate news ideas to lizd@rismedia.com.
