Not that the lovely people at Christie’s International Real Estate are objective observers of the high-end real estate market. However, looking at the very highest end of the real estate market does give us some interesting insights into global trends. First is the fact that billionaires see giant houses as an investment. “It’s something they’ll hold onto for a lifetime,” the CEO of Christie’s Real Estate told Bloomberg News, “the same way they’ll hold onto a Picasso or a Warhol or any number of the great pieces of art we’ve sold over the years.” You can put a painting inside your house, but you can’t live inside a painting.
Some of these mega-homes aren’t really “homes” for their owners, anyway: they’re a place to park money. It was just three years ago that uber-rich people from mainland China were first allowed to buy houses abroad, and many of the nine-figure residences on the market have sold to them.
Good news for people with more modest means, though: in the world’s wealthiest areas, the experts say that luxury homes usually only start at around $2 million.
Sales of $100 Million Homes Rise to Record Worldwide [Bloomberg News]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist