The Des Moines area’s luxury housing market has blossomed in the past year, as downtown condos rise, suburban estates expand and south-of-Grand mansions get makeovers.
The number of million-dollar homes in the metro shot up to 98 from 61 a year ago, according to county assessors’ records in Polk and Dallas counties.
The bulk of the million-dollar properties are in West Des Moines (32) and Des Moines (22), but expensive homes also have begun showing up in unexpected locations, like rural Grimes, where Iowa Highway 141 and the interstate highways offer a quick commute as well as seclusion.
In addition, the metro area got its first million-dollar condominium during the past year.
The demand for luxury homes has been fueled by an expanding local economy that’s created new high-paying jobs in insurance, banking, technology and health care.
By national standards, however, the Des Moines market remains relatively inexpensive.
“The sale of homes worth $10 million and above is on the rise nationally,” said Gregg Antonsen of Santa Fe, N.M.-based Christie’s Great Estates, a real estate affiliate of the New York auction house.
Of course, he added, the definition of luxury home varies from market to market, with $1 million being a good dividing line for a market like Des Moines’.
As new executives move into the market, the demand for luxury homes grows, and remodelers are kept busy restoring value and implanting new gadgetry in older homes. Twenty-two of the million-dollar homes in the metro area were built before 1990, according to assessors’ records.
The metro area’s first million-dollar condominium was created when retiree Richard Levitt combined units at the Park Fleur to create a home valued at just over $1 million. Levitt is the former head of Dial Finance, which is now Wells Fargo Financial.
This year also produced the metro area’s first million-dollar “spec house,” an industry term for a property that is built speculatively with no buyer lined up in advance. Home builder Bill Kimberley erected a 6,400-square-foot house as part of this year’s HomeShowExpo and has it listed for sale at $1.5 million.
Continue reading: desmoinesregister.com