Luxury real estate agents, take head: Eco-luxury has become a key trend. Championing the “great Green way” can be one way to set yourself apart from your competition; providing it is your passion and not just another marketing scheme that sounds good. If you are a marginal Green person, don’t do it.
According to a survey by The Luxury Institute, 60% of wealthy women buy “Green” products and favor eco-friendly services. Custom home builders are jumping on the Green band wagon. They know that luxury Green homes reflect a national trend; more than 80 local and regional Green home-building programs now exist in the United States, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Instead of emphasizing the words ‘square footage’ and ‘floor plans’, the dominant words to describe luxury homes are ‘sustainable’, ‘built to last’, ‘healthy and energy efficient’, ‘ultra efficient windows’, and ‘top line insulation’.
Eco-luxury is a new term in our vocabulary: recycling stone pavers, beams, etc. Some of these recycled items have more prestige if they have an origin, such as a castle in France, a fountain from a villa in Italy, statues from a home in Spain. These items are a point of prestige eclipsing granite counters, Aga ranges, and Brazilian onyx bathtubs. These builders freely admit that building Green is a good way to differentiate their companies in a down market. Perhaps, this may be worth investigating for your luxury real estate marketing practice.
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