High-dollar homes

In Greene County, 41 houses are currently appraised at $1 million or more, according to Scotti Inman, project manager with the Greene County Assessor’s office. An additional 26 are close, appraised between $900,000 and $1 million.

When it comes to finding out who’s buying these homes in the Ozarks, it turns out that there’s no cut-and-dried answer.

“I’ve not had any two personalities the same,” said Sara Ray, owner of Southgate Homes Inc., of her clients. “The customers are as unique as their homes are.”

Ray, who builds homes from $600,000 to $2 million, said many of her clients are physicians, lawyers, accountants and entrepreneurs.

Letty Van Kleeck, a Realtor with Murney Associates, agreed.

“It’s all over the board,” said Van Kleeck, who is part of Residence International, a network of Realtors marketing exclusive properties through a quarterly magazine. “There’s no typical buyer.”

On the move

The majority of million-dollar home buyers are making a move but staying close to home, according to Coldwell Banker’s Luxury Homeowner Profile. The company polled nearly 200 Coldwell Banker Previews International sales associates who sold homes valued at $1 million or more from May 2002-2003 and found that 72 percent of buyers were from the same state where they bought their new home and 55 percent were from the same city. Meanwhile, 24 percent were from out of state and 3 percent were from another country.

Often, newcomers are surprised when they begin shopping for a home in the Ozarks.

“While they may be selling a small home in Florida or California, they can buy so much more here,” said Faunlee Harle, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors. She added that out-of-state homebuyers are drawn to the area’s lifestyle, cost of living, crime rate and school systems.

What they’re looking for

Buyers of $1 million homes may come from various careers, but they do have one thing in common. “In the higher ends, they all want their privacy out the back. They don’t mind neighbors on the side,” Harle said.

That privacy might come in the form of a wooded area, acreage or a golf-course view.

Luxury is another priority.

Granite countertops, high ceilings, outdoor patio entertainment and exterior fireplaces are amenities many of these homebuyers expect, said Sherrie Loveland, a Realtor with Murney Associates.

“It’s more about luxury living and quality per square foot,” said Loveland, who has sold homes in Highland Springs for five years.

Harle, who represents Coldwell Banker Previews International, the company’s luxury home division, said that amenities in newer high-end custom homes include doorless luxury showers with wraparound entries, waterfall showerheads and spa showers.

“The kitchen probably is the biggest thing,” Harle said, adding that stainless steel appliances, food warmers and granite or Corian countertops remain popular. “Wine cellars seem to be the new trend, too – wine cellars, wine rooms, tasting rooms.”

Hardwood floors, elaborate tile work and plumbing fixtures also are popular, Ray said.

“What I think is beginning to be a little bit of a trend is people are wanting less square footage now,” she added. “As the costs have gone up, they’re willing to have less floor space so they can keep the amenities.”

Some homeowners are downsizing, yet staying above the $1 million mark.

“Highland Springs has been developed since 1989, so we’re just starting to see people who have lived in their homes for 10 years start the turnover trend,” Loveland said. “There’s been a number of them who have purchased lots within the development to downsize.”

Empty nesters often buy smaller homes and keep the amenitites, Harle said. “But so would the younger buyer,” she added.

Four percent of those buying $1 million or more homes are under age 34, 68 percent are baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, and 28 percent are 56 and older, according to the Coldwell Banker study.

“You have many more senior citizens who also wish to keep active, who want a smaller home with very nice amenities with not as much square footage,” Van Kleeck said. “That’s happening all over the United States.”

Another trend leading to smaller luxury homes, Ray said, is the market for second homes. Some clients have second homes elsewhere and prefer a smaller home in the $1 million price range in the Springfield area. More than 38 percent of total home sales in the United States are classified as second homes, according to the National Association of Realtors.

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