A “spec home” still under construction in Big Sky, Montana tops the list of the 1000 most expensive homes currently on the market in the U.S., according to the just-released Unique Homes magazine’s special issue, Ultimate Homes, 2007. Built by Yellowstone Club developer Tim Blixseth, the “Pinnacle” home sits on 160 acres and comes with four 4,000-square-foot guest houses, security and staff quarters, a retractable helipad (with helicopter and pilot lounge), and an underground garage stocked with a fleet of Suburbans.

By comparison, the most expensive home currently listed in the Wilkesboro NC MLS is a $ 1,090,000 residence. For $155 million, one could buy 154 of the most expensive homes locally.

“The home prices on this year’s Ultimate Homes list reinforce the fact that the national market in luxury properties has generally remained healthy above the $5 million level,” said Laurie Moore-Moore, Founder and CEO of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a Dallas-based organization whose members have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the top properties on the list.

“There is currently only one property in the Wilkes County MLS system priced at a million dollars or more”, but the trend in Wilkes is definitely upward according to Elizabeth A. Carter a member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and the owner of EA Carter Real Estate. The Ginn Company is developing Laurelmor Resorts in the western part of the county offering lots in the $500,000 range. In other parts of the county, mountain and lake lots are selling for $250,000 and up.

“The number of million-dollar-home sales isn’t available yet for 2006,” added Moore-Moore. “However, the number of million dollar homes sold in the country jumped from 10,000 in 1999 to over 109,000 in 2005, a reflection of the growth in the number of wealthy households. Although many marketplaces are seeing slowing appreciation, higher inventories and longer sales time, the top of the luxury market is outperforming the market in general.”

New York leads the Ultimate Homes list with the most properties — 240. Florida follows closely with a total of 234 properties, up from 183 last year, and California drops from second to third place with 205 properties on the list. Overall, thirty four states have properties that made the list. North Carolina is represented with 1 home. North Carolina is expected to be moving up the list in the very near future.

About The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing is an international organization which offers training to real estate professionals who work in the luxury residential market and awards the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation to those who meet strict performance standards. The Institute has thousands of members on four continents. www.CLHMS.com

To find the perfect home, Wilkes County NC realtor Elizabeth A. Carter is available to help you be an informed home buyer or home seller in today’s changing Wilkes NC real estate market.

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