How Real Estate is Still King for Passing Wealth Between Generations

New Report Explores the Resurgence of Cash Buyers, Real Estate in the Metaverse, and How Real Estate is Still King for Passing Wealth Between Generations.

An inside-look into the biggest happenings in real estate.

Sotheby’s International Realty published its 2023 Luxury Outlook report, an in-depth exploration into high-end real estate markets across the globe. Following two years of residential real estate frenzy and historically low interest rates as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the report reveals that many luxury agents are continuing to see interest in high-end properties among the affluent, despite record interest rate hikes. Global wealth creation is expected to increase over the next several years, translating to a potential influx of luxury buyers and an increase in price points in high-end property markets around the world.

“Buyers and sellers are once again maneuvering an ever-changing and fast-moving real estate market,” said Bradley Nelson, chief marketing officer, Sotheby’s International Realty. “Our goal for the third edition of the Luxury Outlook report was to couple the expert insight of our agents with the perspectives of leading institutions on the trends affluent buyers can expect in the months ahead to help them make opportunistic transactions in 2023.”

The Sotheby’s International Realty 2023 Luxury Outlook report was compiled by surveying Sotheby’s International Realty agents around the world who transact in the US$10M+ price category. This information was complemented by gathering supporting data from other leading industry experts, including Morgan Stanley; the Federal Reserve; Credit Suisse; Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management, the National Association of Realtors; in addition to art and luxury experts at Sotheby’s, the famed auction house, to round out luxury trends in the year to come.

Key findings featured in the report include:

• Sellers are choosing not to sell and take on new mortgages, which could end up being two to three percentage points higher than the ones they have now, protecting home prices from falling;
• More than 60% of leading Sotheby’s International Realty agents said inventory is low or very low in their regions;
• Now that interest rates have more than doubled over the past year, buyers are turning back to cash;
• Credit Suisse, a global investment bank and financial services firm, expects global wealth to increase by US$169 trillion, a cumulative rise of 36%, by 2026;
• The U.S. dollar reached a decades-long high, resulting in U.S. buyers flexing their buying power abroad;
• Real estate sales across major metaverse platforms totaled US$501 million in 2021, according to MetaMetric Solutions;

The most important amenities for today’s luxury buyers are a salt-water swimming pool, water purification systems, electric car charging stations, and floor-to-ceiling windows;