Despite Housing Bust, High-End Homes Moving

With the subprime mortgage debacle plunging housing prices into the cellar, you would think real estate would be the last place to start a new business. But Steve Gray says the high-end real estate market is actually holding its own during the financial crisis. That's why Gray started BuySmart NH in Portsmouth in August, a firm that represents buyers of properties in the Seacoast and Lakes Region selling for at least $1 million. I can ride out the cycle here, says Gray, who has 30 years' experience in real estate and the relocation industry. There's nothing better than having a low volume, highly profitable business, he says.

Gray also owns Curry Realtors, a Lakes Region real estate firm, and plans to use profits from BuySmart NH to help Curry weather the down market. The new company is a lean business, with Gray and two part-time employees. He aims to close four to eight deals a year. The two part-time employees work as complementary concierges, helping clients with travel arrangements, dinner reservations and other services to acquaint them with the area during their property search.
Gray says what sets his services apart is that his firm is solely a buyer's agent; he has no vested interest in a particular property, allowing him to avoid any conflict of interest in the process.

Experts say that though the high-end market has softened-making buyers more discerning-it is still strong. Comparing August 2007 to August 2008, the number of $1 million plus properties listed with Northern New England Real Estate Network decreased by 18 listings to 402, says Mary von Ziegesar of Lion and Davis in Burlington, Vt. That shows people aren't bailing, she says. Usually if a market is down, inventory goes up and that brings prices down. Lion and Davis, which covers Vermont and the Upper Connecticut River Valley in NH, markets high-end properties, also it does not provide brokerage services. It spun off from Lang Lion Davis in 2007 and launched its new Web site earlier this year.

Expensive properties aren't sitting on the market nearly as long as others, though the economic crisis is starting to affect them as well. Heather Peterson, a realtor with The Petersons Inc., Country Real Estate in Peterborough says the high end of the market was generally selling within 90 days and sometimes as low as 30 during the summer, while family homes in neighborhoods have been spending at least six months and sometimes a year on the market.