Selling Luxury Housing: The Royal Road To A Real Estate Fortune
WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 17, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Investing in luxury real estate is all about thinking big when it comes to this form of wealth-building. As an investor in luxury real estate, you can enjoy your property as a landlord, resident, seasonal visitor, or builder.
What Is A Superior Product In This Market Segment?
Luxury real estate is actually not about a high price tag alone. Luxury real estate is better defined as property that is valued because it offers to be desirable, exclusive, and even unique advantages to the buyer. Affluent consumers are willing to pay premium prices if the product is clearly superior.
Those who can afford luxury housing are looking for features like:
• Proximity to high end shops, restaurants, theaters, and upscale businesses.
• Proximity to wealthy neighbors; or alternatively, privacy, even to the point of seclusion
• Natural beauty. The property could be located in a beautiful environment or offer a view of a beautiful of a waterfront, golf course, countryside, or mountainside.
• Beautiful interiors: custom architecture and design, detailed work, opulent finishes.
• Traditional amenities like a huge master suite, an expansive pool, and a chef’s kitchen.
• Exotic amenities like temperature controlled wine-cellars, car lifts, and home automation.
• Space, lots of space, like the homes in Malibu, California that cost an average of $6,429,104, provide an average number of 4 beds/baths, and come to an average size of about 4,108 square feet.
How to Invest in Luxury Real Estate
While, of course, there are many ways to invest in luxury real estate, there are at least three proven investment models: flipping a mansion, buying a luxury apartment or apartment complex, or buying a luxury condo.
Flipping a Mansion
You can also start flipping mansions like actor Jeremy Renner. In fact, it is no different than the more familiar idea of house flipping, except that it costs more to remodel and the profit margin is much higher. The mansion, however, has to have the right mix of architecture, neighborhood, and landscape to appeal to affluent buyers.
Buying a Luxury Apartment
Just as a mansion is far different than an average home, a luxury apartment complex is far different than an average apartment building. For example, the apartments in Betheseda, located in the Woodmont Triangle area, come with kitchens that would delight a chef—granite counters blend with stainless-steel finished appliances and espresso cabinets. The living room area has wood-style flooring, the bedrooms have walk-in closets and massive bathrooms, and the entire apartment, whether it is a one or two bedroom complex, has dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows. Another feature that makes a complex like this a luxury one is proximity to shops, restaurants, theaters, and other benefits of living in a metropolitan area.
Buying a Luxury Condo
Condos, just like mansions and luxury apartments, must have amenities piled upon amenities to be considered luxury condos. The building has to be attractive, the interior stunning, and the location central to all the delights of high-end urban living from shops to restaurants to easy transportation options. A good place to invest in condos is on the east coast. Here the average median income is high as is the population density.
The Bottom Line
If real estate is the royal road to investment wealth, then luxury homes, apartments, or condos must be the palatial stops along the way.
