For affluent house hunters, copy-paste McMansions and sprawling big-box homes just don\u2019t cut it anymore.<\/p>\n
Affluent house hunters are passing up formulaic, predictable properties in favor of homes with architectural character and bespoke details, and they\u2019re keen on features that don\u2019t exist with cookie-cutter construction plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn today\u2019s fast-paced luxury market, architecturally thoughtful homes are increasingly rare,\u201d said Rachel Fisher, managing broker with Premier Sotheby\u2019s International Realty in Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n
MORE:\u00a0Whiskey Magnate\u2019s Roaring Twenties Estate in Newport, Rhode Island, Sells for $16 Million<\/a><\/p>\n A single coveted amenity or novel design element can be the factor that seals the deal for home buyers. It\u2019s a trend worth considering if you\u2019re custom building or updating a home that you plan to sell in the near future. Luxury brokers spoke to Mansion Global about some of the one-of-a-kind features buyers couldn\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n Indoor-Outdoor Ease on the Fairway<\/p>\n Blurred lines between inside and outside spaces wooed the buyers of a custom contemporary home in exclusive Avila Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n Overlooking the 18th hole of a Jack Nicklaus golf course, the home features a wood-paneled entry pavilion, a stone-wrapped linear fireplace and floor-to-ceiling glass framing views of the fairway.<\/p>\n \u201cThe patio, the outdoor kitchen, the balconies felt like they were part of the interior because of the way they were designed,\u201d Jose Cardenas, a luxury broker with Premier Sotheby\u2019s International Realty in Tampa.<\/p>\n After years of sampling luxury properties across South Tampa, the buyers found that many offered space and light but felt interchangeable and lacked architectural individuality.<\/p>\n When they stepped inside the Avila home for the first time, their minds changed. \u201cIt felt like serenity,\u201d Cardenas said, echoing the buyers\u2019 description of the home.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0Super Bowl Auction to Feature John Riggins\u2019s Personal Collection<\/a><\/p>\n The buyers were among an elite group of clients Cardenas invited to a private showing of the property, which generated multiple offers and sold within minutes. \u201cToday\u2019s buyers at this level are looking for an experience. They\u2019re looking for a feel. And that\u2019s exactly what this home delivered,\u201d Cardenas said.<\/p>\n A Party-Ready Coastal Cabana<\/p>\n For the home buyer who scooped up an Intercoastal Waterway stunner in Wilmington, North Carolina, it wasn\u2019t just the postcard-perfect sunrises or sweeping waterfront views that won her over.\u00a0<\/p>\n The clincher was the outdoor cabana and grilling area tucked beside the pool, said Melanie Cameron, a luxury broker with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage. \u201cShe has a big personality and is an entertainer to her core,\u201d Cameron said of the buyer.<\/p>\n Long afternoons spent hosting friends was a longtime dream of the buyer. But her previous homes never quite gave her the space to pull it off, Cameron said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment she stepped into that cabana\u2014picturing charcuterie boards on the counter, music floating across the water, and everyone lounging in the sun\u2014she knew she\u2019d found the home that fit not just her lifestyle, but her heart,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n The cabana became the go-to spot for guests at the buyer\u2019s housewarming party, where she set up a spread of colorful, small plates beneath the glow of string lights. \u201cWatching everyone gather effortlessly in the very spot that sold her on the home felt like a full-circle moment, and by the end of the night, she said it was the first time she felt like she was truly living the lifestyle she\u2019d always imagined,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n When Jonathan LeSuer and Cory Stewart first set eyes on their midcentury waterfront bungalow in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York, they were struck by the home\u2019s panoramic waterfront views, with over 100 feet of lake frontage and 180-degree vistas stretching to the north, south and east.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just pictured sitting there in the morning with a coffee, relaxing and being able to walk into the water from the beach access,\u201d Stewart said of the lake house, which the Baldwinsville, New York, couple purchased in September as a second home and weekend escape.<\/p>\n But what makes the property so unique is its intimate connection to the water that could not be reproduced in a new build. Constructed in 1959, the house is positioned directly along the shoreline, a placement no longer permitted under current regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t build a lake house like this, that close to the water. [It has]You have to be built back further,\u201d LeSuer said.<\/p>\n Hovering over serene Skaneateles Lake, the secluded property features expansive windows and three levels of private deck space overlooking the glassy water and the village lights in the distance.<\/p>\n \u201cYou feel like you\u2019re actually floating on the water when you\u2019re down there,\u201d LeSuer said.<\/p>\n Luxury broker Michael DeRosa, who sold the home to the couple, said the buyers ended up paying 47.5% over the asking price because the home stood apart from anything else on the market. \u201cYou can\u2019t recreate heritage shoreline,\u201d DeRosa said.<\/p>\n A Historic New Orleans Manor
A Rare Piece of \u2018Heritage\u2019 Shoreline<\/p>\n
Luxury broker Eleanor Farnsworth has sold the same historic manor in New Orleans\u2019 Garden District four times during her real-estate career. Previous owners of the storied home, which was built in 1859, include New Orleans dining \u201cgrande dame\u201d Ella Brennan and the daughter of a former governor.\u00a0<\/p>\n