Dania Beach, Fla. (November 17, 2023)

CEO David Diestel sits down with Livabl to discuss the demands of today's luxury high-rise market

As the CEO of FirstService Residential, David Diestel has witnessed the shifting trends in the high-rise luxury market. Luxury buyers demand name recognition, impressive amenities, and immediate service. Diestel’s company aims to bring all these requests and more to today’s high-rise purchasers.

We’ve experienced the trend of making the home more of a flexible space for working and gathering post-pandemic. What are some other shifting trends you’re seeing in the luxury high-rise space?

Luxury high-rises are always early adopters of new services and technology amenities. They are always about the four P’s: People, pets, packages, and parking. So, what are the trends in those areas?

When I think about luxury, let’s talk about the trends we see around people. There are now more spas, and there’s a focus on wellness. The food and beverage trend has also been picking up dramatically. There are restaurants within communities, and we’re seeing more mixed-use properties.

Pets have always been part of the family. Luxury communities used to have simple dog washing stations. Now we’ve got pet spas.

When it comes to packages, when I think of the luxury communities in the past, packages were received. Today, they’re delivered to your home. Also, in some properties, we see butler doors where you can deliver a package and leave it inside.

Parking is the fourth shifting trend. The tsunami of EV charging is here. Now, that’s an essential utility in all our buildings. Service continues to evolve, and people’s demand for luxury living with more services continues.

How diverse are the segments in the luxury high-rise market?

We see tremendous diversity across the segments. We’ve always partnered with developers to realize their vision for these communities. What makes them so diverse is people look for communities that resonate with them for where they are in their lives. Our developer clients are building those communities that fit with their vision for the community – they know who they’ve targeted for their project, and they’re designing around that idea.

So, why do we see so much diversity in the luxury high-rise markets from Toronto, Miami, New York City, Texas, and California? They are all different urban markets with buyers having different needs and expectations, and they are buyers from all over the globe.

Our developer clients have a vision for their community. And our role is to help them realize that vision for the lifestyle their residents buy into. It’s all about the project success and how the developers are designing their projects for today’s buyers, as well as five years in advance.

To read the full interview with Livabl, click here.

 

Nov 17, 2023