AFFLUENT HOMEOWNERS FOCUS ON LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION ACCORDING TO THE 2008 COLDWELL BANKER PREVIEWS INTERNATIONAL® LUXURY SURVEY

High-End Homeowners Still Aspire for a Dream Home; 17 Percent Have Considered Moving to Obtain a Specific Zip Code 85 Percent Expect Home Prices to Increase Over Next Five Years

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -  Homeowners at the highest end of the real estate market still have a dream house in mind and zip code does play a factor in where some call home, according to the 2008 Coldwell Banker Previews International® Luxury Survey.  Top locations for a dream home among those surveyed were on an island (27 percent) or in a rural country setting (22 percent), followed by the suburbs (18 percent) or an international destination (18 percent).  Additionally, 17 percent of those surveyed confirmed that they have considered moving expressly to obtain a specific address or zip code.  Eight percent of respondents actually admitted to having been influenced to purchase a property to "keep up" with friends or family.

In addition, high-end homeowners remain optimistic about home values with a strong majority of the affluent homeowners surveyed (85 percent) expecting the price of their homes to increase over the next five years, a sharp increase from the 66 percent tallied in the 2007 survey. In addition, four out of five of these homeowners surveyed believe the increase in value will be "significant" to "moderate" (81 percent).

"Key findings from our annual survey of the luxury market demonstrate that the typical million-dollar homeowner is invested not only in the value of their home as a current part of their portfolios, but also see long-term gains coming from this investment," said Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.  "Interestingly while 44 percent of those surveyed indicated that they plan to stay in their primary residence for at least 10 years, they also dream of owning the perfect home."

The 2008 Coldwell Banker Previews International Luxury Survey polled 305 U.S. homeowners whose primary residence is valued at over $1 million ($2 million for California residents*) and who have investable assets of more than $1 million. The average annual household income of the 2008 luxury survey's respondents is $754,000.

When asked to identify a location for a dream home, the following were cited by respondents:

Second Homes and the Lure of the Beach

The survey revealed that about half of the affluent homeowners surveyed (48 percent) own at least one secondary residence. Most of these properties are located in beach areas (45 percent). For those who own second homes, significantly more men than women cited that the primary purpose of the residence was a retirement property (17 percent versus 8 percent).

Interestingly, a significantly greater percentage of older respondents (ages 65-plus) said they are considering purchasing an additional property as a new primary residence (42 percent versus 19 percent of respondents ages 64 and younger).

For luxury homeowners, the following are the desired locations identified by respondents for a secondary home: