Who's buying homes? The rich

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The rich are different from you and me: They're buying real estate.

After four straight years of declines, sales of million-dollar homes and condos rose last year in all 20 major metro areas, according to DataQuick Information Systems. On average, these cities saw an 18.6% jump in high-end home sales.

San Jose, Calif., had the biggest market for million-dollar homes, with a 27.4% spike in sales last year; Phoenix saw the smallest increase at just 0.4%.

Meanwhile, sales outside of this price point actually fell 2.8%.

"It hasn't been a good six months for all people, but it was a good six months for rich people," said Glenn Kelman, CEO of Seattle-based real estate brokerage Redfin. "When Wall Street goes up, rich people buy homes."

...

"Higher income households are feeling better about their financial security," said Greg McBride, chief economist for Bankrate.com.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/07/real_estate/million_dollar_homes/

[Obama 2012 1,714]

The lesson here?

Learn to play the markets!

[mawilson 2,133]

It's a been a good year.

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It's a been a good year.

"It's-a been-a good year"!

You Eyetalian now?

[mawilson 2,133]

"It's-a been-a good year"!

You Eyetalian now?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So trickle-down economics is starting to work. These mansions need maintenance, landscaping and maids. Finally some jobs. Let's double down on the upper income tax cuts and see how much more of these properties we can move. Perhaps we'll even start building some of these upscale homes again. more jobs. It's all coming together now.

[Zero Sum 305]

Hooray. The poor rich are being taxed way too much. I hope they can buy more homes.

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Stop the envy, it's not pretty. A lot of these expensive homes are being sold by retired couples who can finally move to Broward County and buy that 250 sq ft condo by the water they've been dreaming of.