Who Buys Luxury Homes in 2007?

RE/MAX PREVIEWS INTERNATIONAL® SURVEY OF PROPERTY SPECIALISTS REVEALS THAT “NEW MONEY” IS DRIVING LUXURY HOME SALES [List your home with Previews]

PARSIPPANY, N.J., (Feb. 1, 2007) – Hard work does pay off, especially when it comes to homeownership. According to a recent online survey of 683 RE/MAX Previews International® property specialists, 96 percent reported that their customers who buy multi-million dollar homes are “self-made” millionaires with “new money.”

When asked for the top professions of their customers, the respondents indicated that 88 percent are business or corporate executives; 37 percent are physicians;
31 percent are lawyers; 30 percent are in finance; and, 14 percent are entertainers, entertainment executives or professional athletes.

“Much has been made about what can be found inside the extravagant luxury homes that we see in affluent communities across the nation,” says Charlie Young, senior vice president, marketing, RE/MAX Real Estate Corporation. “But we wanted to learn more about exactly who buys and owns top-tier homes, and how they make those purchases.”

The study also found that for 64 percent of RE/MAX Previews International® customers, the square footage of a house was more important to them than the size of the property. Fifty-eight (58) percent of sales associates polled indicated that the typical size of their Previews homes sold in the past year was between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet, while 27 percent of respondents said their typical sale was between 5,000 and 8,000 square feet.

Forty-two percent of the sales associates surveyed indicated that their luxury customers typically put a 20 to 30 percent down payment on a million dollar-plus home, with 25 percent of their clients putting down between 30 and 50 percent.

“To put it in perspective, some of these buyers are putting down between $400,000 and $600,000 cash on a $2 million property,” Young continues. “Clearly, these homebuyers have very worked hard to earn their money and are willing to spend it to live well.”

When involved in financial transactions of this magnitude, these luxury homebuyers require their real estate professionals to be equipped with special skills. Seventy-eight (78) percent of respondents said the number one special need that their extremely affluent clients require is privacy and/or confidentiality. Additionally, 44 percent of the sales associates polled said their customers require their real estate professional to be able to work well with their executive assistants, CPAs, attorneys and other representatives.

When asked about “must have” amenities buyers require in their luxury homes, 60 percent of respondents answered that their customers want media rooms and 60 percent answered that their customers want “wired” homes. On the flip side, the sales associates polled said that their clientele believe that gourmet kitchens, granite countertops and wet bars are no longer considered luxuries.

Methodology
The study was conducted in November, 2006 through Zoomerang.com and distributed via e-mail to RE/MAX Previews International® property specialists. The survey generated 683 complete responses. A full list of questions and responses is available upon request.

About RE/MAX Previews International

The RE/MAX Previews International program has been marketing luxury homes since 1933. This luxury home marketing program has been exclusive to RE/MAX affiliates since 1980. The exclusive group of certified Previews® Property Specialists make up only 8.7 percent of the more than 123,000 RE/MAX residential sales associates worldwide. The Previews web site features more than 10,000 luxury properties with an average listing price of over $1.7 Million. [List your home with Previews]

About ®

Since 1906, the RE/MAX® organization has been a premier provider of full-service real estate. In 2006, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the RE/MAX system number one in real estate for the seventh straight year and number eight among all franchisors. The RE/MAX System has more than 3,800 residential real estate offices and more than 123,000 Sales Associates in 31 countries and territories. The RE/MAX System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury properties through its RE/MAX Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its RE/MAX Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site. RE/MAX Mortgage is one of the largest telephone/web based lenders in the country. RE/MAX Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation (NYSE: H), the world’s largest real estate franchisor. RE/MAX® is a registered trademark licensed to RE/MAX Real Estate Corporation. Each office is independently owned and operated except for offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated. [List your home with Previews]

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