Subject to change as data entered into the TREND MLS.
Units Sold YTD, July, 2010
Units Sold YTD, July, 2009
Abington
3
0
Lower Gwynedd
4
1
Lower Merion
62
38
Lower Moreland
0
0
Springfield
0
0
Upper Dublin
0
2
Upper Merion
1
6
Whitemarsh
1
0
Whitpain
2
3
Worcester
0
2
Total Units Sold YTD
73
52
Nationally, luxury home sales (in the U.S. means priced at $750,000 or over) are down 50% in terms of number of units sold. My local analysis, based on homes listed between $1M-$5M, our luxury home prices, shows the number of units sold YTD to be about 32% less than in 2008.
"Luxury homes (those listed at two million dollars and above) continue to bear the brunt of discounts being offered with an average of 14% being slashed from the original asking price compared to the national average of 10%. Additionally, luxury homes represent barely two percent of all current listings on Trulia, but are responsible for 25% of the $27.8 billion in home price reductions. " "There are 3 years of inventory in the $1 million plus range, while the first time homebuyer range (under $300K) continues to present lots of choice for buyers (more than 7 months of inventory). At one end of the market, $1 million plus properties represent less than 1% of unit sales, but make up almost 3% of current inventory. At the other end, under $300K properties make up 75% of sales but only 67% of inventory." (information compiled by Chuck Cosgrove).
Source: RisMedia, August, 2009
Luxury home buyers are often cash buyers, but their purchasing power has been reduced by the diminishing value of their stock portfolios. Mortgages are much more challenging and costly to obtain. Sold to list price ratios are much more extreme at higher price points (approximately 20% off list),as the limited pool of buyers have strong negotiating ability.
Luxury homes can be marketed through all regular website venues, in addition to websites that specialize in luxury homes such as dupontregistry.com, luxuryrealestate.com, luxurylifestyle.com.
