Key takeaways
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- Gen X and Millennials are projected to inherit $4.6T in global real estate over the next decade, including ~$2.4T in the US, amplifying luxury-market demand and turnover.
- Wealthy parents are increasingly buying high-end homes for children earlier, favoring condos (flexibility, easier ownership via trusts/LLCs) over co-ops, and pulling demand toward “younger” neighborhoods and amenity sets.
- More transactions are being structured through trusts, LLCs, and family partnerships to shift future appreciation outside taxable estates and transition control over time.
- Separately, heirs are listing large, maintenance-heavy “legacy properties,” increasing supply of trophy estates and pressuring sellers to modernize or price more realistically.
What Happened?
A new Coldwell Banker Global Luxury report projects that roughly 1.2 million people with $5M+ net worth will pass down more than $38T globally over the next decade, with real estate a major component. Brokers, attorneys, and family offices report that this is already changing luxury home buying: parents are purchasing expensive properties for children earlier, deals are increasingly executed through trusts and entities, and some inherited estates are being sold because heirs prefer liquidity or lighter-maintenance living.
Why It Matters?
This shifts luxury real estate from a purely end-user market toward a hybrid of lifestyle + balance-sheet management. Earlier “inter vivos” transfers (parents buying while alive) can pull forward demand and support pricing in favored submarkets, especially where younger buyers cluster and where condos dominate. At the same time, the market may become more segmented: properties aligned with younger tastes (newer builds, flexible ownership, modern amenities) can see stronger bid support, while legacy formats (co-ops with restrictions, large staffed estates, older “status” buildings) risk slower price appreciation and longer days on market. The rise in trust/LLC structuring also signals that tax optimization and governance are becoming central to transaction design, drawing more influence from family offices and advisers than traditional retail buyers.
What’s Next?
Watch for three second-order effects: first, a sustained premium for “turnkey, flexible” luxury inventory (condos, new development, amenitized buildings) as family-assisted purchasing expands. Second, a growing pipeline of estate listings as heirs rationalize holdings—potentially boosting supply of large trophy properties and increasing price dispersion between modernized vs. dated assets. Third, more policy sensitivity: as the wealth transfer accelerates, local regulation, disclosure, and tax rules (transfer, estate, and property taxes) will increasingly shape where capital flows and how deals are structured.
