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Real Estate
Owners of Million-Dollar Homes Not Who You Think
BY AMY HOAK
Baby boomers who work for a corpo- ration – many of whom have household incomes of less than $500,000 – make up the majority of people living in the coun- try’s million-dollar homes, according to a Coldwell Banker Previews International study.
But these homeowners are not living an “ultra-lavish lifestyle,” characterized by amenities that might include heated floors, tennis courts and backyard put- ting greens, says Jim Gillespie, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. The company recently unveiled a luxury homes website that’s a trophy cabinet of some of the best luxury homes for sale.
“In reality, the million-dollar home- owner lifestyle is not what you see in the movies,” Gillespie says. Of those surveyed, only 5 percent had a personal assistant, 4 percent had a live-in house- keeper and 1 percent had a driver.
On the other hand, 35 percent of the 300 surveyed owned second homes, and another 35 percent are consider- ing buying a second residence. And the study found that 70 percent of respon- dents don’t change their planned luxury purchases.
“The nice thing about real estate is you can buy it for an investment or buy it to enjoy it,” Gillespie says. Real estate also offers “tax write-offs you can’t get if you invest in stocks or bonds,” he adds.
Forty-one percent of luxury home- owners surveyed earned between $200,000 and $500,000 per year, and 19 percent said the majority of their retire- ment holdings were in real estate. The respondents all had primary residences valued at more than $1 million.
LOOKING LIKE A MILLION
Popular features of homes in the Cold- well Banker survey were designer kitch- ens, found in 65 percent of the residences, and original artwork, which 54 percent of respondents owned or planned to buy. Wine cellars are a big “must have” with luxury home owners and 37 percent of homes surveyed either had them or had put them on a wish list. About 89 percent of luxury homes had home entertainment rooms that can accommodate more than six people.
Other popular features included:
• Security systems, in 86 percent of homes
• Professional landscaping, in 67 percent of homes
• Wet bar, in 57 percent of homes
• Movie-theater-style seating in enter- tainment rooms, in 24 percent of homes • In-ground swimming pool, in 37 per-
cent of homes
• Hot tub, in 35 percent of homes
More than half of second homes were in
recreation locations, with 32 percent on the beach or oceanfront, 11 percent
FOTOLIA.COM
on the lakefront and 11 percent in ski resorts or mountain areas.
Many baby boomers surveyed said they didn’t plan on retiring to their sec- ond homes in the near future: 32 percent didn’t plan to retire until they are 65 or older, and 14 percent planned on retiring between the ages of 60 and 64. When they do retire, 42 percent said they planned on traveling domestically and 46 percent internationally.
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