One of the best ways to judge the strength of the luxury housing market is to simply count the number of serious buyers at a weekend open house event.
Recently, I held an open house at my newest listing: 4329 McFarlin in Highland Park. This immaculate home completed in 2002 offers more than 6,200 square feet of living space, a downstairs master suite, a corner lot with 90-foot frontage in the well-respected Highland Park school district and a lagoon-style pool. 
The property is offered at the very competitive price of $1,999,000. Judging by the attendance at Sunday’s open house, a house with this much bang for the buck won’t last long in today’s luxury market. In a two-hour stretch, approximately 35 people toured the residence. Many of these folks were not simply “kicking tires,” they were seriously in search of a new home.
In addition to luxury home shoppers being drawn to competitively priced homes, a trend I am increasingly seeing (and this open house strongly reinforced) is their desire for a downstairs master suite. Often these same buyers are also looking for a downstairs guest suite for their aging parents.
Another trend I am seeing quite often is buyers looking to simplify their lives by downsizing from a larger home to a smaller home that is completely move-in ready.
Lastly, entertaining at home remains a very strong draw for luxury home buyers. Well-appointed kitchens, game rooms and an outdoor entertainment area – preferably one that is surrounded by a pool – are major factors in just how many luxury home shoppers will visit an open house. These same attributes are also often the determining factors in just how fast a well-priced home such as 4329 McFarlin will sell.
Posted by:
Dave Perry-Miller
