by Janet Krahling (thanks Janet):
People often ask “Why buy a private residence at the Four Seasons, St. Regis or Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco?” Here’s the simple answer: Imagine having exceptional high-end services in your home every single day and the potential investment upside associated with real estate, but without any of the headaches normally associated with home ownership. There’s a new lifestyle being created atop condo towers in San Francisco.
Here are a few other reasons, excerpted from a recent Wall Street Journal article and recent Business Times article:
-Helping to simplify residents’ lives. As people are working more hours, increasingly frazzled by the daily grind of their careers, traveling more
frequently, [homeowners] want what limited personal time they do have to be free of the nuisances of daily life and home ownership, like mowing the lawn,
maintenance issues or managing a staff of butlers.
-Purchasing homes isn’t just about granite countertops and marble baths
anymore. Buyers now ask “How easy are you going to make my life if I buy
here?”
-With increasing competition among luxury condominium developments, top-end
amenities like on-site wine storage, in-house spas and twice-monthly
housekeeping, not to mention 24-hour concierge services, are becoming the
norm.
This ease in lifestyle explains why hotel-branded condominiums are
performing better than the overall housing market. For example, “The Four
Seasons condominiums are getting more than a 90% premium over comparable
apartments that aren’t a part of a luxury hotel….the synergies are
fantastic…” Buyers are happy to pay a premium for amenities but also
want them to pay off at re-sale.