The benchmark for rating a property as being luxurious has gone beyond sprawling houses with tennis courts and indoor pools, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Report 2020 shows.
According to the recent report by the international real estate firm, smaller, more manageable square footage and modern amenities focused on wellness and technology are the kind of luxury properties high-net-worth home seekers are now flocking to.
After Coldwell Banker’s survey of 22 luxury real estate agents around the world, it came up with these four property types and features being sort after by the affluent.
Home automation
Home automation ranked as the most desirable feature and was shoppers’ top in Coldwell Banker’s luxury report. About 81 percent of the surveyed agents said their clients seek smart homes.
“If people buy a fully renovated turnkey home, part of that turnkey idea is to have smart-home technology that is voice-activated and precisely integrated,” Danny Hertzberg, Miami-based agent said in the report.
For luxury home buyers, though, smart technology transcends voice-enabled devices to denote such features as smart security systems, electric car docking stations and energy-producing roofs.
“The evolution of smart home tech has gone from convenience-focused applications to experience-focused integration of all components for daily living and energy efficiency,” Hertzberg said in the report.
Modern and move-in ready homes
Wealthy home shoppers prefer modern residences – both in a design sense but also in construction age, the result of the survey by Coldwell Banker’s 22 luxury real estate agents around the world said.
While some may not shy away from gut renovations of older or historic properties, the report stated that buyers tend to favour new builds with open-concept floor plans that support contemporary interiors.
Almost 80percent of the luxury real estate specialists surveyed by Coldwell Banker said that buyers want flowing layouts with easy, informal transitions. Meanwhile, about 70 percent of respondents said that new-construction homes have risen in popularity over the past year.
“Buyers are into the finishes and something in the house that gives it a wow factor,” Anne DuBray, Coldwell Banker Realty in Glenview, Illinois said in the report.
Apart from the newness of a residence, the report stated that wealthy shoppers want turnkey arrangements, which can offer more value in a deal by eliminating the need to move or purchase furniture.
“Luxury home shoppers are willing to pay up for the brand new or newly renovated, and they will even give up a view if you have a new home requiring no work,” Roger Pettingell, based in Longboat Key, near Florida, was quoted in Coldwell Banker’s report to have said.
Wellness amenities
According to Coldwell Banker’s report, luxury property buyers want more than traditional features such as spas and gyms in their homes. The luxury home shoppers want is in the form of amenities that emphasize holistic health as well as environmental stewardship.
“Think energy efficiency, air and water flow and lighting quality as wellness considerations that underline the design, function and location of residences,” the report read.
According to the report, there are different levels of eco-friendly certifications that buildings can obtain (and use as a marketing highlight), an advancement that is a part of the growing global trend of wellness real estate.
Living in a “green” development often translates into 10percnt -20 percent premiums, the report stated.
For Paul Scialla, a former Goldman Sachs partner and founder of Delos, a startup focused on the wellness real estate, awareness and knowledge of the benefits of living in an eco-friendly environment coupled with an industry ready to support the building of wellness real estate will ensure that this segment continues to grow.
Other amenities that luxury buyers seek as cited in the report included providing services and designated spaces for children and pets.
Spaces to support a lifestyle
Other features other than outdoor living spaces that foster a seamless indoor/outdoor living are on the rise, and according to the report, they are seemingly elevated by well-off millennials.
For instance, flexible spaces that can seamlessly shift their purpose appeal to millennial buyers, who may work from home several days a week or run their businesses. At the same time, au pair suites are in demand by young, affluent families who rely on live-in nannies to help care for kids.
According to Tracy Allen of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties in Honolulu, Hawaii, “we’re seeing more of these multifunctional spaces because people want the ease of living.”
She also stated that “with everyone working on laptops and being so mobile,” she has noticed that many of her luxury listings must have a component that is multipurpose and multifunctional.
“Dining rooms can double as conference rooms; you can have a business meeting in the dining room, then put your laptop away and lunch is served,” Allen was quoted to have said.
