Once its asking price indicates a listing qualifies as one of St. Cloud’s luxury properties, the market profile changes considerably—especially in today’s environment. Since the buyers of million-dollar homes are generally those who own a variety of other investments, they are unlikely to be greatly affected by the increase in monthly mortgage interest rate payments. If they aren’t out-and-out cash buyers, they usually have access to financial instruments that make a luxury home purchase less costly.

For St. Cloud luxury home shoppers, a significant portion of their due diligence will be determining that any property which gets an offer supports its hefty price tag—in other words, its investment value. That’s where a part of the luxury market differs slightly from much of the rest of the real estate world: notably in what you might call “fashion-consciousness.” Last Thursday, the Homes section of the Wall Street Journal explored a prime example with its feature, “Sure, You’ve Got a Wine Cellar. What About a Whiskey Lounge, or a Tequila-Tasting Room?”

Although there isn’t a lot more to explore after you’ve seen that title which pictures a 23-acre Stony Point, N.Y. estate whose custom wine cellar holds about $2 million worth of Opus One. This points to the possible emergence of the Next Big Thing: estates that have “plenty of places to enjoy a cocktail.” Wine-tasting rooms are hardly new features for the luxury home scene—but now the addition of a whiskey-and-cigar lounge, glass-enclosed custom wine cellars, and/or other varieties of “multiple rooms devoted to alcohol” is gaining popularity.

Interest in spirits had already been building before the forced isolation from Covid accelerated it—including a growing legion of collectors of collectible spirits. One new Bel-Air spec house includes a tequila bar whose light-up shelves make its bottles of Don Julio 1942 “appear to glow;” a champagne bar with $300 bottles of Armand de Brignac; and an “expansive” storage room. Another Denver interior designer has created $100,000 speakeasy-type rooms for two different clients who, following the pandemic, “are eager to entertain.”

An interesting detail about the Stony Point mansion is that the man of the house is a teetotaler. His two sons drink whiskey and the Mrs. appreciates red wine, but Raja Amar is quoted as saying he sticks to bottled water: “I like to collect—that’s what I enjoy doing.”

As yet, no $1.2 million whiskey lounges have been featured in any of our local luxury homes for sale—but there are plenty of other amenities that make today’s listings well worth exploring. Call!

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