“The 55+ market is becoming an increasingly important focus of the nation’s housing industry as members of the baby boom approach the traditional retirement years,” says the National Association of Home Builders. “But builders hoping to entice households into new homes may find the going tough because older Americans, by and large, are happy with where they currently live.” Those above age 55 — an age which hardly seems ancient — play an important role the real estate. As people age they tend to earn more (because they’ve built up their business and job experience over time) and owe less (because their mortgage has been paid down or paid off and the children have finished school).

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If you’ve made the decision to buy or sell a luxury home then it’s time to select the real estate professional who can best assist you. Not all good agents operate effectively in the upper-tier market. It is a market segment that requires special competencies.

1. Look for market knowledge and real estate skills. Not only should your agent know the city or area you are interested in, he or she should be knowledgeable about the price range you’ve targeted…

2. Notice special luxury affiliations and designations and ask what they mean. To zero in on professionals who specialize in the fine homes and estates market, look at an agent’s memberships and designations…

3. If you are selling, ask that the listing presentation include a specific marketing plan for your property. Don’t assume that the best marketing plan is always the most expensive. Listen to why the agent has included each element of the plan…

4. If you are selling, don’t let an agent “buy” your business. Choosing an agent based on the highest suggested list price is counterproductive if the house is overpriced…

5. Rapport and clear communication are important. Buying and selling can be stressful. Choosing an agent with whom you communicate clearly will help simplify the process…

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Learn enough to pursue your own tax strategies and direct your accountant, writes Sandy Botkin in “Real Estate Tax Secrets of the Rich.” , otherwise you can lose thousands in deductions and write-offs. “A solid knowledge of real estate taxation can increase most people’s rate of return on their homes and investment property by 10 percent to 20 percent per year.” There are few subjects less exciting than taxes, even if a financial bonus is the potential payoff. Luckily, Botkin, a former Internal Revenue Service attorney, seems to understand that. This primer on maximizing real estate tax savings is broken into bite-size chunks and livened up with whimsical illustrations and boldface headings.

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search for : Real Estate Tax Secrets of the Rich, Internal Revenue Service attorney

Members of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing are knowledgeable professionals who have undergone extensive training in analyzing the luxury home market, providing quality service, and achieving effective results in the high-end residential market. Choose a member of The Institute as your real estate professional and you know you are getting someone who actively seeks out the latest training in marketing strategies, stays on top of the changing market conditions, and knows how to handle the special needs of elite clientele.

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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.

search for : Ultimate Homes, 2007, Wilkesboro NC MLS, The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Wilkes County MLS, Elizabeth A. Carter, EA Carter Real Estate, Ginn Company, Laurelmor Resorts, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist

A recent survey revealed that “green” home had at least three of the five following elements: incorporation of energy-efficient products; features that address indoor air quality; attention to resource management (including use of recycled materials in building); attention to site management (including the location of the home and its surroundings); and increased water efficiency. A home could also be considered green in the survey if it was certified as such, or had a major green feature incorporated into it, such as solar heating. Last year McGraw-Hill Construction estimated only 2 percent of the residential construction market could be considered truly green by those standards. The new research says only 0.3 percent of all existing U.S. homes are truly green, constructed using several different green building design features and products.

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Buying into a development before construction has begun is not a new phenomenon, but with the slowdown in the real estate market — and in condo sales in many areas — the rules are changing. A few years ago, the incentive to condo buyers was clear: You would buy early, sit back and, by the time the building was in place, be pretty certain that the unit’s value had increased substantially. But the days of buyers lining up for a condo in a building that might be years from completion are long gone — and developers are facing a new reality.

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While agents no doubt will inundate you with fancy presentations when you decide to put your house on the market, all of that is simply window-dressing. You need to find an agent who won’t just go through the motions of selling your house, but will follow through with every query from everyone who calls about your listing or walks through your front door. Most of all, you need to find an agent who’ll ask the critical question I never heard during three months of intensive home shopping: “Do you want to buy this house?”

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My wife and I are in the process of getting divorced. We have agreed that two rental properties currently in our joint name will be transferred solely into my name. I know that I can file appropriate forms at the office of the Recorder of Deeds to have the titles changed into my name, but my question is about the mortgages on the two properties. One mortgage note holder told me that I have to refinance the balance on our mortgage in order to get my wife’s name dropped. Another loan officer told me that I would only have to pay a $200 fee and the mortgage would remain in my name.

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Buyers nationwide are choosing homes built to Energy Star standards. Introduced in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Star is a partnership between the federal government and business — suppliers, manufacturers and installers — that focuses on reducing energy consumption. Energy Star’s emphasis on new-home construction began in the late 1990s. Today, more than 2,500 builders and a half-million homes nationwide have earned Energy Star certification. By the end of the decade, Energy Star expects to have certified more than 2 million homes. Although many buyers have yet to fully grasp the Energy Star twist on new-home construction, builders are poised for when the light clicks on. As emphasis on reducing energy consumption grows, experts say, buyers will be looking for more efficient homes.

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