You remember the San Antonio homes with the soaring, beamed ceilings, the cascading waterfalls, the kitchen with more granite than a quarry, and the bathrooms the size of a small home? Hopefully you have a fond memory of these San Antonio luxury homes, because chances are, you won’t see too many of them on a builder’s list of projects. In fact, many of the high-end custom home projects that were once a mainstay in the San Antonio market are now being traded for more affordable homes. Instead of the multi-million dollar homes, think half-million dollar homes. Sure, they’re still nothing to scoff at, but place them beside the homes of just a few years ago and you’ll soon see a new trend developing.
The Newest Cash Cow: The Moderately Priced Home
With too many multi-million dollar homes sitting on the market, builders have begun looking elsewhere. In short, they have to look for a new cash cow, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be found anywhere in the luxury home market. Because of the challenges of 2009, most builders are looking for a bridge to buoy their business along for the time being and it looks as if smaller homes are the way to go.
Why the Luxury Market Struggled in 2009
There may be many reasons San Antonio buyers are looking to downsize: the difficulties with the stock market collapse; the struggling credit sector where jumbo loans are hard to come by; and the mere fact that many buyers have discovered that the cost of maintaining a multi-million dollar home simply isn’t worth the financial strain. As a result, many builders have now begun focusing their efforts on the $200,000 to $500,000 market. And, given the fact that many luxury homes can cost a builder between $4,000 and $6,000 a month in holding costs, it just doesn’t make financial sense for builders to build homes that will sit on the market for months. Although the worst has passed for the San Antonio luxury real estate market, it appears as if the general consensus of building more moderately priced homes will be a mainstay in the San Antonio real estate market throughout 2010 and beyond.
Posted by Richard Soto on
Most people are willing to give up luxuries when the economy is bad. Maybe things will look up soon.
Posted by Michelle on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 3:15pmI know it's been a while since this article was written, but it looks like luxury homes in Louisville may be turning the corner after a slow 2010. January 2011 saw a jump in luxury sales when compared to the previous 5 years.
Posted by Greg Fleischaker on Sunday, February 20th, 2011 at 8:31pmLeave A Comment