Super Wealthy on the Rise

There is something fascinating in the lifestyle of the wealthy, and I know I’m not alone when I stand at the grocery store cashier line and read the covers of Us Weekly and People. Celebrities, royals or “just” wealthy, we follow them and every move they take whether it’s about the Kardashians or Jeff Bezos or Harry and Meghan. What does it feel like to be them? What do they do when they go home? What do their homes look like?

Selling luxury real estate is a niche of its own. And, I’m not talking about the $1.5 million luxury, I’m talking homes starting at $5 million, ending somewhere that is hard to grasp reading the article or report from my 2000 SqFt home, on a couch that I paid $700 for, not $15,000. It takes a special kind of approach and some serious talent to sell these homes for people that already have everything and a bit more.

On Tuesday morning my team and I had the joy and privilege to sit down and have breakfast with some of these amazing brokers, listening to Craig Hogan speak about the state of Coldwell Banker Bain Global Luxury. I always feel a tad out of place at these events, but I still like to go to listen and learn from those who live, breathe and sell luxury. Pretty good bacon in Medina too, and I love Craig Hogan, the VP that travels the world and tells the best stories.

I am happy with my life and happy with my clients. By now it has been established that I will never become the one flying around the globe on private jets, the one with seven homes around the world with paparazzi on my tail. I never wanted that life. I wanted this. I wanted a nice little house in a good neighborhood, a family and friends, but I do like following the affluent. If you ask my 9-year-old son, he will one day live in Beverly Hills in a house that looks exactly like the Restoration Hardware showroom in Seattle. He will be hosting amazing parties and driving a Lamborghini. He also wants to be a firefighter and as a parent I do see some potential problems with him accomplishing his dreams when it comes to the house and the car. I also believe there’s a good chance that his dreams will evolve over time and he will find himself dreaming of something else.  However, my other 9-year-old will never move out of the house. He wants to live with mom and dad for forever.

Market reviews are boring. The Report though, the luxury market review is most definitely not. It displays a way of life that most of us only read about, and dives deeper into who these people are, what they do and what their aspirations are. Did you know that Boise, ID and Minneapolis, MN are amongst markets with growing luxury populations? It’s okay, neither did we.