Sales of $100 million homes hit global record

Ultra-luxury real estate sales are on the rise, not just at home, but abroad. The niche of homes for sale that cost over $100 million is on fire, and the market simply can’t keep up.

Sales of homes with a nine-figure value have hit a record high, not just because five (cough, cough) sold last year, but because there are many on the market being sold off-market to the hungry billionaires.

Bloomberg notes that the data comes from Christie’s International Real Estate, offering insight into the global trend (although it has been noted that the company may not be the most objective of observers).

The wealthy typically don’t even live in these homes

Wealthy investors see these mansions as investments. “It’s something they’ll hold onto for a lifetime,” the CEO of Christie’s Real Estate told Bloomberg News, “the same way they’ll hold onto a Picasso or a Warhol or any number of the great pieces of art we’ve sold over the years.”

Further, a purchase of this size does not mean it’s a homestead, rather as a means to park their cash. Most of the buyers of the $100M+ homes sold here have been to investors from China who have only been allowed to buy houses abroad for the last three years, leading to a surge in investing in American properties.

It’s also for bragging rights

“People want trophy homes,” Eyal Ofer, a Monaco-based shipping and real estate magnate, said in interview earlier this week at the Milken Institute Global Conference, according to Bloomberg. “They’re a scarce commodity. And they’re better than gold because you can boast about it.”

This makes high end luxury a growth market, and real estate professionals looking to cash in have a lot of competition. We’ll see if these high sales remain, regardless of economic constraints – money from China sure wants to land in America!

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