Survey: 26 percent of consumers consider high-end homes

Nationally, 26 percent of surveyed consumers are considering a high-end home purchase and another 13 percent are ready to buy a luxury home, according to the Luxury Homebuyer Survey recently conducted by realtor.com®.

Survey data reveals the buying motivations of transaction-ready consumers and others considering purchase, as well as provides insight into their preferred luxury property amenities and resale expectations.

Percentages of surveyed consumers currently considering a luxury home purchase:

• 13 percent of respondents stated that they are looking to purchase a high-end luxury home;
• 26 percent said they might be considering a high-end luxury home;
• 61 percent revealed they are not looking for a high-end luxury home.

Most popular price points at which surveyed consumers stated that luxury housing begins, by U.S. region:

Northeast (ME, VT, NH, NY, NJ, MA, CT, RI, MD, DE, PA) $1 million +

Pacific (CA, OR, WA, AK, HI) $1 million +

Mountain (MT, ID, WY, CO, UT, NV, AZ, NM) $1 million +

South Central (AL, MS, TN, AR, LA, TX, OK) $500,000 +

North Central (KY, OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, NE, KS, ND, SD) $500,000 +

South Atlantic (VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, FL) $500,000 +

“The luxury homebuyer is an important contingent of today’s real estate market, as luxury homes tend to drive trends throughout the entire balance of the marketplace,” said Barbara O’Connor, chief marketing officer at Move, Inc. “We are seeing large portions of buyers throughout the country – from 23% in the Northeast region and 23% in the South Atlantic – eyeing luxury homes.”

“This means sellers, builders, and certainly Realtors® should all be paying particular attention to desired luxury amenities such as chef-quality kitchens and master suite features to close deals for them.”

Realtor.com® also asked respondents why they wanted to upgrade to a luxury home. A recent career advancement was the most cited reason, at 19 percent. Not far behind at 17 percent were the luxury property buyers who were newly retired, followed by 14 percent who wanted to make an investment and 12 percent who were first-time home buyers.