Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

As the economy improves, hopefully the luxury market segment we gain more momentum.

Economy Improving in 4th Quarter
The economy grew 2.2 percent in the third quarter. The U.S. Commerce Department had previously estimated a 2.8 percent growth rate. Officials attributed the discrepancy to consumer caution, saying that consumers simply didn’t spend as much.

Many analysts still believe the economy is likely to improve in the current quarter, growing at an estimated 4 percent, or perhaps, even 5 percent. Fourth quarter results will be released Jan. 29.

Companies stocking depleted inventories will drive fourth-quarter growth, but the results will continue to reflect consumer caution. "We expect a better performance in the fourth quarter, but the core problems for the economy – bust banks and a massively overleveraged consumer – have not gone away," says Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.

Source: Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa (12/22/2009)

Most active global real estate markets

The Pacific rim dominated the most active real estate markets globally

Asia property markets lead 2009 activity

Seven of the 10 most active real estate markets in the world in the past year were found in China, led by Beijing and Shanghai. The three most active global buyers were all Chinese development companies....

Falling Luxury Home Prices

Check out this link to the Forbes top ten cities for 'falling home prices' for 2009 Forbes Names Cities With Biggest Price Drops

Luxury Resort Brokers Network

For some time I have wanted to create a blog just for Luxury Resort Brokers because our market issues are so much different than any other market niche. My goal is to share ideas, data, websites and specific information that might be of use to real estate brokers practicing in this segment of the market. Hope you enjoy and will added your comments. Since we are starting a new year soon, this is a great time to 'kick' this off. Happy Holidays and best to all.............