Famous people, either actors of stage or film, musicians or politicians, buy real estate for themselves or to own as investments. Celebrities have various tastes when it comes to real estate just like any other person but the difference is the spotlight. Therefore, some of the foibles witnessed by real estate agents have to be dealt with in discretion. The biggest real estate markets are Los Angeles, New York and London.
Some of these skills needed for discretion include the ability to get away from paparazzi as well as excellent knowledge of sophisticated security systems. This is because of security and safety but also because there are numerous blogs, some receiving as much as 300,000 page hits per day, and newspaper columns devoted to celebrity real estate dealings. Society loves to read of celebrities and where they live, what they live like and whom they are living with. The public likes to read about people who live in a fantasyland of excess and privilege.
Celebrities regularly use trusts or facade companies to mask their transactions. They carry out business in a different way from regular citizens. Many of them like the idea of shopping without actually buying anything. Security features such as high walls, sophisticated intruder-trigger alarm systems are what celebrities prefer. Buyers have to sign privacy agreements to look at any property linked to a celebrity, and that did not happen ten years ago.
Real estate agents who deal in the luxury markets rarely meet their celebrity clients until the deal is almost done, using assistants for the actual work. Celebrities also seek after anonymity because details of their net worth are readily available and it becomes a distinct disadvantage when negotiating the price of a property. Some celebrities buy property based on who owned the property prior, but most go for the value it adds to their investments instead. Some properties sell well when potential buyers know who the celebrity owner is and others do not, depending on the buzz the particular celebrity is carrying at the time.
By far the most important skill for a real estate broker to possess is a network of serious connections, being able to get business from a very choosy clientele is not easy. The way is smoothed over by whom you know. It is believed that entry-level houses that are deemed fit for an A-list celebrity costs about 1.4 million dollars.