The Agency’s Kofi Natei Nartey was a featured panelist on “The Boom in Luxe Housing” panel at the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) Spring Conference, held last week in Atlanta.
Nartey, Director of The Agency’s Sports and Entertainment Division, spoke about the increase in luxury home demand across the United States, which according to him and the other panel participants, is a result of low mortgage rates, favorable prices, and an economy that, in comparison to other countries’, is quite secure.
A June 6 LA Times article, Luxury housing boom in U.S. is still playing out, summarized some of Nartey’s points regarding the luxury housing market. The article quotes Nartey’s comments on the recovery of buyer interest:
“That tends to be the trend with the generation now. We get a lot of immediate gratification and bounce back.”
A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, Luxury Sales Continue to Bounce Back, Brokers Say, also from June 6, recapped Nartey’s observations of the booming luxury market, and statistics he provided. In 2012, California buyers purchased nearly 700 homes in the $5 million and over range. This was “an all-time high, many of which were all-cash deals,” according to Nartey.
Nartey explained that overseas buyers make up 20-percent of the luxury homebuying populace in Los Angeles, according to WSJ. Because of the United States’ stable economy, buyers from abroad invest in U.S. luxury properties and usually pay with cash.
Luxury homebuyers are not only looking to secure an investment, but are also attracted to elements of luxury living that make a home stand out. This is especially true on the West Coast. As reiterated in the LA Times piece, Nartey spoke about a Beverly Hills house that is currently being built with a surrounding moat, just one example of what makes a luxury home truly one-of-a-kind.
As a result of current trends, Nartey thinks that we will soon see a property listed at $250-million on the market, with the record now believed to be $190-million.
Connect with Kofi Natei Nartey on Twitter (@KofiSellingLA) for more information on luxury homes in LA.
Photo Above: Kofi’s Las Vegas listing at 26 Vintage Court, located on the Spanish Trail Country Club golf course and one of the most exquisitely built homes in Las Vegas with 12-bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and more than 24,000-square-foot of living space.
