LUXURY MARKET
IN A WORLD ONCE DOMINATED BY MEN, WOMEN ARE EXACTING CHANGE AND TAKING THE LEAD By Rayni Williams
Capitalizing on diverse, distinct backgrounds, women move into first place in the real estate world – as both agents and consumers of luxury real estate.
As an agent in Los Angeles’ high-end real estate market for nearly 10 years, I have experienced the cyclical and constantly-evolving luxury real estate market up close, and watched excitedly as real estate trends emerge and evolve before my eyes. A field once dominated by men, women now take the lead on both the broker and consumer side. On the broker side, women sell and manage the multifaceted process involved with closing a real estate transaction and as consumers, they flip, design and redesign homes, and lead the charge for owning a broad array of real estate in some of the hottest neighborhoods in town. In the decade since I’ve been an agent, men have galvanized L.A.’s real estate market with pricey quintessential California moderns. You know the ones—the white modern boxes with walls of glass and views from Downtown L.A. to the ocean. Men are taking these sexy bachelor pads, many with home theaters, auto gallery-style garages and even nightclubs, to a whole new level while paying the price tag
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of ‘whatever it takes’ to achieve the ultimate dream, the girl, the lifestyle or fill the void that was missing in high school. Much like yachts and exotic cars, these are ‘trophy’ properties that assert a certain status amongst the people who build and buy them. Often cited by leading economists, and infrequently realized by clients and colleagues in the agency world, are the statistics that underscore the emergence of women as leading contenders. This includes real estate agents, brokers of all facets of the deal, and consumers (whether they are buying, flipping, or leading the design process of a home) in today’s marketplace. 60 percent of the American workforce today are women. In stark contrast to where the numbers were even 10 years ago, women dominate the real estate world as agents across the United States today. Looking at the lower end of the spectrum, there are about 48 percent more female than male agents in South Dakota and Nebraska. Meanwhile, on the higher end of the spectrum, there are 64 percent more women