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The luxury market for real estate has not been nearly as affected as the lower ends of the market by the downturn. True upscale properties in desirable locations still have a market, but the seller and agent need to understand how to determine the buyers to market to.

One of the problems is that luxury homes while fitting in a category differ wildly. Some are flashy and scream look at me, others are demure and look relatively modest from the street but are elegant on the inside and in the back.

The 4 main groups of affluent home buyers are;

• The look at me affluent, those that demand to be recognized and gain fame and glory from the world recognizing their wealth.
• The dependably affluent who want things to be perfect and are very proud of it, but do not derive their self worth through their home.
• The economically affluent, people who want their homes to reflect their affluences and success but need it to be practical at the same time so that they will profit from it.
• And last, the anonymously affluent. These folks want a nice home but want one that is so subtle that most will not recognize the value in it.

Marketing to these groups and selling each type of home takes a completely different approach. Make sure that if you are marketing expensive and exclusive properties you understand the difference. Otherwise you could be looking at an expensive marketing bill on an expired listing as opposed to a nice commission check.

“There are the unmistakably affluent people like Donald Trump and Paris Hilton,” Best said. “They have an annual income anywhere from $300,000 to $6 million per year and they are the ones who will want their home to have an exclusive design that suits their personality. They want to know what the home says about them.”

Then, Best said, there are people who, like Oprah Winfrey, are called the “dependably affluent” people. They want their home to reflect true craftsmanship and want everything in the home to be functional and have a direct benefit.

Another category is the “economically affluent” people like Alan Greenspan and Suze Orman. According to Best, this type of client wants their home to have great value, but they want to be quiet about it.

Other affluent people want to be totally anonymous in their wealth - like Katharine Hepburn. She wanted a home that made her happy, but didn’t want anyone else to know about it. via Daily Herald

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