Long-term thinking about luxury housing in America’s best destinations is not necessarily tied to larger economic factors. In fact, many gated communities have seen steady sales during economic downturns before, and it is hard to believe that those with means will not invest in a vacation home or second home at some point, maybe as soon as they escape some of the larger group psychology of the economic crises. Many communities that feature private club living can be researched at PrivateCommunities.com
Clearly, for buyers who can afford them, second homes and vacation homes will have an inelastic demand based on emotion and aspiration. When they begin to buy them, it may not be in significant enough numbers to get coverage from the mainstream news media who tend to cover trends that can be generalized over larger populations. Private Communities Newswire invites Comments from developers who are selling second homes, even if these numbers are lower than they were five years ago. This may give us all some local insights, which will be helpful long before the mainstream media crunches the numbers.
For global insights the Urban Land Institute (ULI) released its latest publication in June, examining the implications of global population growth, migration and urbanization as well as aging populations on the future of real estate.
ULI's Richard Rosan
According to ULI: “Global Demographics 2009…is the second in an annual series that explores how demographic trends are affecting real estate investment and development decisions worldwide.” Some findings of the study follow.
- Until 2049, growth is expected in China, India and the United States. The fastest-growing areas will be Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
- Europe will suffer population declines at least until 2030.
- Mature, yet still growing economies in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and others will offer attractive real estate investment and development prospects once the recession subsides.
- Earth’s large workforce is aging rapidly.
- Consumer markets in developing nations are expanding the numbers of “moderate- and middle-income households.”
According to ULI: “Global Demographics 2009 (978-0-87420-123-9; Urban Land Institute, 2009) is available everywhere books are sold and through the Urban Land Institute at www.uli.org or by calling 1-800-321-5011. The price is $39.95 for ULI members and $59.95 for non-members.”
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privatecommunitiesnewswire.com // June 1, 2009 at 6:19 pm |
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