Mansion dwellers tell tales of humble beginnings
Christina Montgomery
Province
It’s new money, not old, that’s driving an increase in high-end home sales in Canada, says a new survey by Royal LePage Real Estate.
Almost half the owners of luxury homes polled in the 2007 Carriage Trade Luxury Properties study — 47 per cent — said they’d risen from humble beginnings. One-quarter of the wealthy homeowners owned two properties, the survey found.
Six per cent owned three residences and two per cent own more than five properties, said poll results released yesterday.
In B.C., the survey focused in Vancouver, where multiple offers were the norm on luxury homes.
Sales of homes priced over $1 million rose by 24 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 — from 544 to 673 — over the first quarter of 2006.
Homes typically sold within 30 days, and waterfront homes continued to be the most coveted.
The highest spike in luxury-home sales was in Ottawa, with increases of more than 200 per cent and a third of the buyers from overseas.
The 2007 Carriage Trade Luxury Properties Report included a market analysis of trends in eight major cities across Canada, combined with a national Ipsos Reid poll that measured the attitudes, upbringing and beliefs of high-net-worth Canadians — defined as individuals with assets of at least $250,000, excluding real estate, and a primary residence valued at a minimum of $500,000.
n Almost half (46 per cent) credited hard work for their wealth, followed by the drive to succeed (27 per cent) and a higher education (18 per cent). Only four per cent chalked their success and their financial stability to being born into the right family. A mere one per cent cited luck.
n The majority said they started from modest beginnings. Asked “What was your economic status growing up?” only three per cent picked wealthy/affluent; 79 per cent said lower middle class or middle class upbringings. Four per cent said they rose from poverty.
n Sorted by occupation, 13 per cent were entrepreneurs, 10 per cent were CEOs and senior executives, 10 per cent were doctors, seven per cent salesmen and three per cent lawyers. About a third — 32 per cent — were retired, enjoying the fruits of their labours.
The survey, which accounted for regional variances in markets, is considered accurate within six percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
© The Vancouver Province 2007