Luxury Insights

How's the (luxury) market?

The news for luxury home builder Toll Brothers was good this morning as they announced a 54% increase in profits for the third quarter.  

As one of the pundints on this radio report notes, "Toll Brothers has a leg up because luxury properties don't compete with homes in the low end of the market, which has been hobbled by foreclosures."  

Does this jibe with what you're seeing in your market?  

For a discussion about what's happening in luxury markets around the country,  join us on our How's the (Luxury) Market Webinar, Thursday, September 1st at 1:00 EDT (that's 10:00 Pacific, noon Central time).  

Panelists on the webinar will be:

Scott Sambucci
Chief Operating Officer
 Altos Research 

Jon Sterling
Director of Marketing
Altos Research

Laurie Moore-Moore
Founder & CEO
The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

This webinar is open to members and non-members alike.  Register now.

NYT: Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves

Nordstrom has a waiting list for a Chanel sequined tweed coat with a $9,010 price. Neiman Marcus has sold out in almost every size of Christian Louboutin “Bianca” platform pumps, at $775 a pair. Mercedes-Benz said it sold more cars last month in the United States than it had in any July in five years.

New York Times: Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves

Making sense of the Census

The New York Times has published a nifty data visualization tool on their website that allows you explore the latest Census data via a map interface.  As they put it, "Browse population growth and decline, changes in racial and ethnic concentrations and patterns of housing development."

A nice tool to assist you in staying on top of market trends and opportunities. 

Affluence and the printed word

Affluent Americans read print publications.  There's no denying it.  

Even though they are spending more time online--and often more time than their lesser-earning counterparts--they are also still very heavy consumers of print media.  

A  recent study by Mendelsohn/AdAge bears this out.

93% [of affluent Americans] said they read hard-copy print versions; in contrast, less than a third read them on computers, and no other format garnered more than 10%. The same pattern is evident for newspapers, which 86% read in print, compared to the 39% who read them on computers, and 14% who read them via smartphone... The pattern is clear across all media. The vast majority consume content through its most traditional outlet.  

There is no denying the rise of new media, but it might be too soon to discount the old, particularly as a channel for reaching the affluent.