The Power is Now

Sarasota investment homes and other tends in the luxury housing market – Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Duff Rubin is the president of Coldwell Banker Realty in Florida.

This month, I wanted to highlight the top trends dominating the 2022 luxury real estate market. As I have mentioned previously, the Sarasota region continues to be one of the most searched regions in the nation and in Florida for real estate. Here are some highlights from Coldwell Banker Global Luxury’s 2022 Trend Report released in late October.

Nearly 90% of respondents believe the 2023 real estate market will be better or the same as the 2022 market for investment. Florida still ranks in the top 10 (No. 8) for locations where luxury buyers are most interested, and Florida was also the top international buyer destination for the 14th consecutive year.

Home Front by Budge Huskey: After hurricanes, it’s ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’ 

Home Front by Duff Rubin: Real estate groups take action to help neighbors after Ian

Real estate remains in a strong position for the remainder of 2022 and heading into 2023 as more affluent consumers are turning to real estate as a long-term investment strategy. Our report found that 77% of U.S. luxury consumers own an investment property. Of those, nearly two-thirds own two or more properties.

Affluent consumers are also turning to real estate to diversify their portfolios as a long-term investment strategy. Part of this can be contributed to the volatility of the stock market as well as the record pace of home appreciation across the country over the last few years. With rising mortgage interest rates, luxury buyers are getting creative with financing real estate purchases. Just over half plan to finance their next home purchase with cash (51%) while more than 48% plan to use a private wealth mortgage. Buyers are also using nontraditional bank loans, seller carryback financing and rate buy-downs.

“Almost all our high-end buyers are purchasing with cash,” said Roger Pettingell, a Luxury Property Specialist with Coldwell Banker Realty in Sarasota and Longboat Key. “Buyers may be getting financing, but in the luxury market, offers contingent upon financing are still not enticing sellers. This is similar to last year. However, when interest rates were very low, buyers often borrowed against their investment portfolios and financed the property privately.”

Now, Pettingell says, affluent buyers don’t mind taking some money out of the stock market and putting it into something more tangible like luxury real estate. Consequently, demand is still outpacing supply across most price points. With travel bans eased, we also expect to see international interest in the United States real estate market increase due to pent up demand.

It’s no surprise, then, that as of August 2022, the majority of luxury home markets analyzed were still seller’s markets. And in Florida, everything from starter homes to vacation properties to luxury real estate are still in short supply. The secret is out – Florida is the place to be!

Duff Rubin is president of Coldwell Banker Realty in Florida.

Help/FAQ