Sales of Luxury Homes Hit 6-Year High
SEATTLE -- The U.S. housing market has shown clear signs of recovery in the last year, but the market for homes priced at $1 million and above has rebounded at an even faster rate, says Redfin, a technology-powered real estate broker based here.
From the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of this year, sales of these residences rose 34% compared to an increase of just 5% for the market as a whole over the same period.
The wide gap in sales volume is likely a result of the fact that owners of luxury homes are more likely to have the wherewithall to sell at little or no profit than other homeowners, say Redfin analysts.
The study comprised 22 metropolitan areas in the United States that have the most luxurious homes, from Atlanta to Chicago to Washington, D.C., to San Francisco.
Regardless of the price range homebuyers are looking at, they are likely to face competition. Last month, 73% of the offers Redfin agents wrote went into bidding wars. "It's a sellers’ market, and buyers are finding it necessary to put a lot of money down, waive contingencies, and include rent backs if they want to maximize their chances of getting the home they want," said Jennifer Chen, a Redfin agent.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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