In positive sign, luxury consumers surveyed plan on selling their home within the next 10 months: report

January 22, 2024

San Francisco is still a favorite investment option for international property buyers, especially from China, Canada and the United Kingdom. Seen here: Victorian houses in San Francisco's Alamo Square with the city skyline in the background

By Luxury Marketer Intelligence

More than one-third of surveyed luxury consumers feel that 2024 will be a better time to buy or sell a home compared to 2023 – indicating enthusiasm for luxury real estate as they pursue their dream home.

In further corroboration of that premise, the luxury market saw sales during the last quarter of 2023 increase nearly 4.2 percent for single-family homes and 14.2 percent for attached properties compared to the previous year, according to the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Consumer Survey. New listings also increased by 14.2 percent for single-family homes and 7.2 percent for attached properties during the same period₁.

"After a year of high interest rates, housing shortages and conflicted consumer sentiment, it's encouraging to see such a positive outlook on the luxury real estate market for 2024,” said Michael Altneu, vice president of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, in a statement.

“If lower mortgage rate trends combined with the new inventory momentum continues, luxury homebuyers could be inspired to move forward with their next home purchase,” he said.

On average, luxury consumers surveyed plan on selling their home within the next 10 months, per Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, which is part of Madison, new Jersey-based Anywhere’s Coldwell Banker Real Estate brokerage.

Alongside the luxury consumer survey, "The Trend Report" explores top trends leading today's luxury homebuying landscape, backed by additional insight and data from Coldwell Banker Global Luxury real estate agents, Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and Wealth-X.

Coldwell Banker Global Luxury collaborated with Censuswide, Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and Wealth-X to provide insights into real estate trends, market sentiment, property investment and luxury spending preferences.

Censuswide surveyed 4,213 U.S. consumers, 25 percent of whom were luxury (1,053 respondents in total). Research was conducted between Nov. 27, 2023 and Dec. 11, 2023.

Luxury respondents were classified as those aged 18-plus with a household income of $1 million-plus, or who have bought a home in the U.S. worth $1 million-plus or are planning to purchase a home in the near future worth $1 million-plus.

Top six themes for 2024

Shifting out of neutral: Influences on the luxury market

Have-it-all properties

The influence of AI

The high earners, not rich yet (HENRY) factor

Foreign buyers

Smart homes

In addition to the trends and consistent theme that wealthy U.S. consumers have a more positive outlook on the real estate market heading into 2024, key findings from the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Consumer survey include:

Continued desire for affluent consumers to purchase a home abroad

Social media's tremendous role in homebuying decisions

Location being the most important factor to consider when searching for a home

International investments
The United States continues to be a real estate safe haven for many of the world's wealthiest and influential consumers.

According to report, international buyers purchasing real estate in the top 5 percent of the market in 2023 saw 25 percent growth, indicating that international high-net-worth consumers continue to see to value of investing in the U.S. luxury real estate market.

The top international buyers include China, Canada and the United Kingdom, and the most favored cities to purchase within the U.S. are New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

While international buyers look to the U.S. for their next property, wealthy U.S. consumers are also exploring opportunities abroad, with nearly 40 percent of survey respondents planning to buy a home in a foreign location within the next year and two-thirds of affluent consumers saying they plan to purchase a home abroad within the next five years, per the brokerage’s study.

Europe is the top destination among luxury consumers (29 percent), followed by North America outside the U.S. (28 percent) and the Caribbean (23 percent).

Social media influences luxury buyers
Social media is overwhelmingly influencing luxury consumers to purchase their dream home.

An astounding 73 percent of affluent consumers say they have been influenced by social media to purchase a particular home they desire.

Instagram (45 percent), YouTube (45 percent) and TikTok (44 percent) are the top social media platforms that have influenced luxury consumers to purchase their dream home.

For the younger generations of luxury homebuyers such as millennials and Gen Z, TikTok has especially become an enormously popular platform to connect with real estate agents to become more knowledgeable of the housing market through comprehensive yet digestible, bite-sized videos and virtual walkthroughs of homes.

Sixty-four percent of consumers ages 18-24 have been influenced by social media in their desire to purchase a particular type of home.

In addition, 68 percent of consumers in this age bracket are most likely to have been influenced by TikTok in their decision to purchase their desired home.

Discerning tastes in luxury living
While high interest rates and low inventory may cause some consumers to settle or pause their home search altogether, luxury consumers have only become more selective when purchasing their newest property, according to the report.

Contemporary affluent buyers are more discerning than ever, prioritizing location, privacy, wellness amenities, lifestyle experiences and the latest technology.

Notably, the top three amenities desired by luxury consumers according to the survey findings are privacy, breathtaking views and garage space, per the survey.

Location is top-of-mind for luxury consumers when choosing a home (45 percent), followed by price (39 percent).

Wealthy U.S. consumers prefer midsized to large modern contemporary styled homes, ideally located on the West Coast.

High-tech security systems, smart lighting and energy-saving solutions stand out as the top three preferred technologies among luxury consumers.

Preferences in smart home technologies vary across age groups.

Older generations (45-plus) lean towards prioritizing convenience, while the younger demographics (18–34) express a preference for privacy and security.

Individuals ages 35–44 prioritize health tech systems, such as air quality control and water analysis sensors.

"In contrast to the pandemic homebuying boom, we're seeing luxury homebuyers more than willing to wait to find the perfect house in 2024 that meets every single one of their needs whether it's privacy, wellness amenities, lifestyle experiences, latest technology or a combination of all those factors,” said Jade Mills, president of Jade Mills Estates and international ambassador of the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury program, in a statement.

“Specifically, turn-key, move-in ready homes with easy access to the best luxury amenities provide buyers with instant gratification in attaining their desired lifestyle,” she said.

“Whether it's purchasing the home that has it all or upgrading their current home with trending features, I'm looking forward to seeing both buyers and sellers enjoying the decisions they make for their home this year."

Please click or tap here to access Coldwell Banker Global Luxury’s The Trends Report

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