When I scrolled through Realtor.com last Friday, something jumped out at me. Two luxury apartments were available in two significant high-rise buildings, both over $5 million. You may not think this is unusual, but trust me, I know it’s unusual.
Currently, there are 21 luxury condos over $2.1 million on the market, with the highest at $15 million. The majority hover between $2-3 million. I’ve featured the two priced over $5 million today to show how this trend is playing out. But, if you want to know what’s going on, what’s hot and what’s not, ask a stager, because they are always the first to know everything.
Of course, I turned to George Bass, the owner of the luxury staging company George Bass Stage and Design (GBSD), because his company is generally the one staging these multimillion-dollar condos.
“There are some gorgeous high-rise properties on the market now,” Bass said. “During the pandemic, people were trying to get out of high-rises. That has completely changed. We’ve seen the trend return to high rises being hot again. Easily half of our stages lately are in high rises all over the metroplex. The Warner Group just sold a luxury condo we staged in Plano. Dona Robinson’s listing in Lakeside Towers in Flower Mound just sold, so they are not sitting on the market long. They are selling quickly. And there are so few for lease now. The Vendome’s 20E was just leased. We had staged that property when a client saw it and decided to rent it. So we turned our staging into a Turnkey Living lease. It’s a great option because it’s a genuinely move-in-ready property.
GBSD staged both of the properties you see here. The HALL Arts Residences high-rise staged for Cindi Caudle has a much different feeling than Dan Rhodes’s listing at The Mayfair. Both showcase why staging for a target demographic makes such a difference.
“We felt the HALL Arts Residences demographic was on the younger side, so we showcased great art with classic modern furnishings,” Bass said. “The views are, of course, exquisite, and the layout is straightforward and uncomplicated.
While the views are always the star of these heavenly high-rise homes, each one has an identity and specialized amenities. In the Mayfair listing, the seller combined two units and remodeled them from top to bottom.
“There is actually not a lot of wall space here, and because it’s about the views, we held back on art and created a style that would appeal to a more mature demographic. It’s a serene, soft, classic look, whereas we established a more adventurous look at the HALL Arts Residences. People who move to The Mayfair are typically tired of living in a huge home and want extraordinary services offered in luxury high-rise homes. You create the appropriate vibe for each high rise that will resonate with the target buyer.”.
It’s not surprising that we are back in a hot, high-rise market. Locating a good plumber or electrician now is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. With watering regulations in place, who wants to deal with a yard? The luxury, high-rise lifestyle is hassle-free. That’s a powerful draw.
