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Kristen Fricks-Roman, a Certified Financial Planner, senior vice president and financial advisor with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, is today’s All About Real Estate on Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. A leading global financial services firm that offers investment banking, wealth management and more, Morgan Stanley has offices in 43 countries around the world.
The finance company recently released the Morgan Stanley Investor Pulse Poll, which highlighted many real estate trends for 2015. The poll’s demographic consisted of high net worth investors, meaning they have $100,000 or more to invest. While the respondents in this poll don’t represent the typical first-time home buyer, they’re still an important part of the market as they have considerable amounts of money to invest in the real estate market.
Overall, this poll showed that Morgan Stanley’s investors are confident in a strong 2015 and locally, Atlanta investors were particularly excited. Kristen stated that the results show in this poll validated many of the conversations clients are having with the financial team in her office.
While investors stated that they expect a strong year, many reported that they thought the stock market would rise while the real estate market won’t. In fact, just 34 percent of Atlanta-based respondents said they thought the real estate market would improve while 51 percent nationally felt the market would improve. This less-than-stellar outcome hints that many high net worth investors are more interested in making purchases for the long-term as opposed to buying investment opportunities.
Kristen states that buyers purchasing a home under the premise that the market is not going to show significant improvement are buying for different reasons than those buying with the premise that the market will boom. Buyers with a slow-growth outlook will typically make a legacy purchase, but most likely won’t buy for cash flow purposes.
Key findings in the poll hinted at what people are planning to do with their wealth this year, from renovating to making large purchases. One trend demonstrated that today’s wealthy buyers are interested in sustainability, especially for the purpose of being in their home long-term. Homeowners are searching for long-lasting light bulbs, high-end equipment for the kitchens and software that will allow them to control their home remotely. The poll also found that more than 80 percent of respondents were planning to go on vacation, further highlighting this need for remote control of their home.
Another unique trend emerging from the poll and from Kristen’s personal work experience is that wealthy buyers looking to downsize will own a smaller home but still invest the same amount of money as if they were purchasing a large home again. Often, they use these additional dollars to upgrade the features found in the home.
It’s also becoming increasingly common for these homeowners to choose to renovate the home they have instead of buy new. Some of the most popular features being added include swimming pools and outdoor living spaces, especially for this demographic of buyers in Atlanta.
Overall, the types of investments being made are determined by the life phase of the investor. To learn more about the findings in the Morgan Stanley investor poll, listen to the full podcast above.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management offers a variety of wealth management services. If you’re in search of investment or financial planning services, Kristen recommends finding someone that is compatible with you in terms of values. With Morgan Stanley, you will get a team that is concerned with your entire financial strategy, not just the amount of money you have. Kristen works to incorporate your income stream, budgeting, investment opportunities and legacy into one comprehensive plan.
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Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio’s “All About Real Estate” segment airs on Fridays and highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact 770-383-3360 or via the contact form on this site.
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