DOWNSIZING AMERICA: Proximity is key; Mini-estates are being created, right here in Southampton!!! Builders are building them and buyers are buying them---where is it heading? I think we may have a trend here!
No more 10,000 Square foot houses--no more multiple acres of land to manage and no more cookie cutter designs for this "New Home" buyer! No! They want the new and special, custom-home on a 1/3 to 1/2 acre, near everything including the ocean and the center of town---at least here they do!!!
THE NEW, "NEW HOME" BUYER
What is it that buyers like about a brand new house??? I have asked and I have seen the numbers of people who like the idea of living in a house that no one else has ever lived in. Some don't mind creatng that kind of a house and they go for a complete renovation before they ever move in....
The other kind of buyer who wants only the un-lived-in house or a"new build" is the wealthy one willing to pay for the house of their dreams---a new house with all the custom details that they have selected....this was a rare buyer in the past but they are out there now looking in large numbers, looking to buy a house that will never be duplicated.
..and they want it for 1/2 of what they would have paid in the past. They want a custom home with the Great Room, wine cellar, home theater, guest cottage/ pool house, large pool and all the mill-work, stone walkways and gourmet accoutrements in the large eat-in kitchen...They want an "estate" feeling on a smaller scale..a Mini-Estate, in other words!
THE NEW HOME BUYER IN TODAY'S MARKET
In the past 6 months, I have had 3 "New Build" buyers---they want a brand new house, built to their specs and they want it to be spectacular! The house to the right has become a masterpiece for a buyer who, in another market--as in '07 would have been looking for at least one acre and a 10,000 square foot house...in the estate section!!
However, in this market, where deals are fewer than in '07 or even early '08, the new house buyer has a budget in mind---a budget that you and I may never have the opportunity to utilize, but a budget none-the-less! The plan seems to be to take advantage of the real estate recession while it is still in full swing--to enter the Hampton's market in a brand new home at a low price and give it the look and special features that only an estate area home would have had in the glory days of the housing boom.
Instead of paying $10Million or more for an estate with tennis and grounds that look like a national park, the new house buyer is looking to be near everything; being able to walk to the ocean beaches and to the shops, theater and restaurants is the key---
And they want it to be a manageable lawn with gardens that surround the house and pool. The house, too, needs to be around 5000 Square feet and not much more than that---too unwieldy if it is any larger....And they want it all for under $5Million.
Extended family members are all part of the new plan...grown children, their children, elderly parent...all accomodated on the premises. These are the important things that are all part of the buyers plans.
It is not a matter of downsizing to save money necessarily; it IS a matter of PROXIMITY. The "New House" buyer is a person of wealth AND family values...they have the grit and they have the determination to live as a unit, play and learn as a unit and they want to be able to walk to everything as they do it!!!
This is the new "New House" buyer here in Southampton--will this trend be set and will it spread to the other Hamptons??? Will it become the new way of co-habitating in our "New World"??
HAS YOUR MARKET BEGUN TO REFLECT THIS NEW WAY OF LIVING? Please let me know if you are seeing the same phenomenon in your markets.......
Comments(41)