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After thirty years in this business, I can usually predict the first question a luxury buyer is going to ask me — and it’s rarely the one you’d expect.
What Buyers Used to Ask
Years ago, the first question was almost always about size: how many square feet, how many bedrooms, how large is the lot. Those numbers were the primary measure of value.
What Buyers Ask Today
Today, it’s much more likely to be something like, “How does the light move through the day,” or “What’s it actually like to live here on a weeknight,” or “How private does it feel from the street.” These are questions about experience, not specification.
Why This Shift Matters
Luxury buyers today are thinking less about impressing visitors and more about whether a home will genuinely improve their daily life. That shift has changed how I approach showing properties completely — I spend far more time discussing light, flow, and daily livability than I once did, and considerably less time reciting square footage.
What This Means If You’re Buying
If you’re shopping for a luxury home right now, I’d encourage you to lean into these same questions rather than defaulting to size and specs. How does a home feel at 7am and at 9pm? Does the layout support how you actually live, or just how a floor plan looks on paper?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does square footage still matter to luxury buyers at all? Yes, but as one factor among several, rather than the primary driver of a decision the way it once was.
How do you evaluate something like “how does the light move through the day”? I encourage clients to visit a property at more than one time of day when possible, and pay attention to specific rooms — particularly where they’ll spend the most time.
Is this shift specific to Los Angeles luxury buyers? It reflects a broader national trend, though it’s especially pronounced here, where indoor-outdoor living and natural light are particularly valued.
A Different Kind of Conversation
I actually love these questions — they get to what really matters much faster than square footage ever could. If you’re buying today, what would your first question be? I’d genuinely like to know.
