Trends are like waves. Like a surfer, a luxury real estate marketing professional has to read the waves and plan accordingly. Here are some of the trends which are manifesting as 2008 wanes and we head into 2009.
Before the economic downturn was evident, Americans were already cutting back on their luxury purchases. What has become cool is to consume less (bling is out), or to consume in a socially responsible manner. Unity Marketing‘s October survey on luxury trends reports this noteworthy change in behavior among 1200 affluent consumers. With an average annual household income of $210,000, half of those surveyed said they were shopping less, and when they did it was at outlet stores or sales.
Furthermore, they are minimizing driving by combining all their errands in one trip in order to lessen the carbon footprint. They are bringing cloth bags to the market to save the earth, (thank goodness Hermes sells one for $995). When making car purchases, they are interested in the Hybrid, and luxury brands are responding accordingly. Even the larger SUV such as General Motors, Yukon as well as Cadillac’s Escalade have hybrid models. Organic is in, sustainable agriculture, anything with the Save the Earth Theme is in.
Another survey by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate “Living Green” revealed that 48 % of the homeowners are willing to spend $2500 or more to green up their homes to make them more attractive to potential buyers. This is an important bit of information when advising sellers in preparing their homes for sale. The Green attributes should be emphasized in the marketing of a home.
This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.