2013 Was Another Good Year For the Wealthy

Based on various article and reports I have read in recent weeks, 2013 was another good year for wealthy individuals. This no doubt stems from a variety of reasons. The global economy continues to improve following the last recession, gains are being realized in the stock market and most importantly, many wealthy clients or individuals I have met, work smart and work hard.

The following is a summary of the key indicators that reflects the ongoing growth talking place in the wealthy demographic segment. 

• The world’s club of ultrawealthy individuals, or those with $30 million or more in net assets, added about 5,000 new members last year. Over the last decade, the ranks of the über-rich have swelled by 59 percent, and the register of billionaires climbed 80 percent, to 1,682.

• The world’s 0.1 percenters had a pretty good year; three-quarters said their assets had increased. Only 4 percent said they wound up worth less.

• By 2023, China is expected to have 322 billionaires, more than Britain, Russia, France and Switzerland combined.

Lastly and of good news for the real estate market,

• Looking for someplace to park their wealth, the world’s rich still prefer property.

  Here in the southern Georgian Bay region we continue to modest growth in the luxury property market.  This area has yet to reach the point where we are regarded as a globally recognized destination to invest in luxury real estate and I suspect it will be years before we are.  Nonetheless, every year there is an increasingly greater number of wealthy individual looking to invest in our market.

  As of this writing, there are 108 properties listed for sale on the local multiple listing service.  As mentioned in prior posts, that represents roughly 4 years of inventory in this price segment of the market.  Selling a property in the $1 million plus segment takes time and most importantly it's all about price.  Wealthy Buyers are smart.  They know what they want and they know value.  Many have had the experience of building or extensively renovating homes and they know the costs associated with construction. When viewing your property if they do not see an asking price that is a least equal to the bare minimum replacement cost, they will simply move on.    

  If your property has been listed for an extensively long period of time with no offers and or very few showings perhaps you need to ask yourself and your REALTOR® what's wrong?