Luxury home sales outperform other price ranges this summer - Naples luxury market strengthens

Aug. 30, 2010 - PRLog -- Dallas, TX,  August 30, 2010 -- Gloomy news that July sales of existing homes dropped 25.5% year-over-year has overshadowed new statistics showing summer sales of million dollar plus homes significantly outperformed other price ranges.

“Luxury homebuyers have been buying this summer,” said Laurie Moore-Moore, CEO of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (ILHM).  “After waiting in the wings, many affluent buyers spent the summer shopping for value and snapping up trophy properties.”

Statistics would indicate that she’s right. According to The National Association of Realtors (NAR), for 2009 million-dollar and above home sales were just 1.2% of total sales or about 61,500 sales nationally.  In July 2010, million dollar plus market share was up to 1.9%.  While sales of homes in the $500,000 and above range rose dramatically in June, the million-dollar-plus market segment was the only price range in July showing positive growth compared to last year.  “The mix of what is selling has shifted in favor of homes priced at $750,000 and above,” added Moore-Moore.

NAR’s report that July’s median sales price increased 0.7% year-over-year may be more a function of increasing sales of expensive properties relative to other price ranges than an indicator of across-the-board home price appreciation.

According to the ILHM National Luxury Market Report -- which does a weekly analysis of luxury homes for sale in more than 30 major markets -- after a dramatic rise in upper-tier inventory, which started in January of this year, the numbers of luxury homes for sale has declined about 5% since the beginning of July.  Along with a decrease in inventory, there has been a decline in asking prices.  Forty three percent of luxury homes currently on the market have had at least one reduction in asking price over the last 90 days.  An additional 19% have been pulled off the market and subsequently relisted.  

“While I wouldn’t say the luxury market is in recovery,” said Moore-Moore, “the growing market share of luxury sales relative to total sales, a slight downward trend in inventory, and sellers who are more realistic about price are factors shifting the affluent into a buying mode.”

Craig Jones, a top produce with John R. Wood, Inc. in Naples, Florida adds: "Good news in Naples!  Unit sales for condominiums and single-family homes that sold for $3,000,000 or more have increased by one percent for the first eight months of 2010 compared to the first eight months of 2009: 67 condos and single family homes sold in the first eight months of 2009; 76 sold for the same period in 2010.  The median sale price for the first eight months of 2010 was $4,050,000 – 2 percent higher than the median sale price for properties sold in the first eight months of 2009."

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Craig Jones at John R. Wood, Inc. has ranked in the top1/4 percent of all Naples agents in terms of sales revenue since 2005. A multi-million dollar producer since 2002. Holder of multiple real estate designations. Winner of the Best in Client Satisfaction Award every year since 2004. Featured on HGTV's "My House Is Worth What?".