What Makes a Home a Luxury Home?

For people who live and breathe aspiration and drive, luxury homes strike a deep chord. Most people generally understand the way a luxury home might look — large size, well built, made with good materials, with an uncommon look — but they actually vary widely, according to the market.

Here are a few rules of thumb for generally defining a luxury home:

Location, location, location

Yep, the old real estate cliche is never more true than in this situation. Location is one of the most significant indicators of property value. Usually, luxury homes are purposely built in affluent locations. They could be along the shoreline, in the mountains, in a city like New York or San Francisco, or even in a suburb that has a good reputation for high-end living.

Price

With a highly desirable area come higher home prices. In fact, luxury homes are often priced even higher than your typical homes in the same area. These days, properties like this can typically start at a million dollars and rise even higher, depending on the market.

More square footage

Size matters. The more elbow room you have, the more high-end and luxurious the home appears to be. Square footage can translate to more rooms, especially bedrooms and bathrooms, and perhaps a spacious home theater with its own top-quality laser projector. More square footage could also mean staff quarters and non-traditional spaces like a reading room, breakfast nook, children’s playroom, pool, sauna, and in-house gym.

Quality building materials

Only the very best materials go into creating a luxury home. Nothing is skimped or skipped. Extra thought and consideration are given to floors, countertops, molding, mantles, stairs, and appliances. The materials used are usually not found in average homes. They could be imported, antique, or just more expensive due to their higher quality.

Unique design

Luxury houses are unique in that they refuse to look like a typical or average house. They come in all shapes and sizes, and often are customized according to the buyers’ tastes. You won’t consider the roofs, windows, driveways, bedrooms, bathrooms and landscapes the same old features that you’ve seen a million times in your home search. They will appear intensely unique and often compelling.

Unique amenities 

A luxury home will purposely offer amenities that may not be possible in an average house. These features could include a private swimming pool (indoor and/or outdoor), a tennis court, a home theater, a  gym, an indoor bowling alley, and even a disco. The idea is to appeal to buyers with expensive tastes and who can afford to meet and pay for those tastes.

Bottom line: 

Luxury homes are usually located in highly desirable areas, priced higher than average houses and offer more square footage and unique amenities. Because they are considered “luxury,” they appeal to fantasy and aspirational living, but they may not be able to fit everybody’s budget. Ask your real estate agent about the luxury homes in your area, and go over your finances with a fine-tooth comb to see how you may be able to actually make this dream of a house come true for you.

Article courtesy Karl Kennedy.