Why fewer buyers are grabbing Donald Trump real estate
Why fewer buyers are grabbing Donald Trump real estate
Is the brand imploding or is the quality of the products to blame?
Donald Trump’s polarising bid for the presidency may have resulted in flagging sales of the real estate mogul’s luxury holdings in the US.
It’s either that or real estate buyers stateside may simply be looking for better products.
The number of sales in 24 properties listed on The Trump Organization website has dropped 13.8 percent between H1 2015 and H1 2016, Realtor.com reported. The median home price of Trump properties also sank 4.2 percent.
Realtor.com’s research covers a period before two recent cruxes in Trump’s campaign: a series of revelations on The New York Times by his alleged sexual victims as well as a recording of lewd comments on “Access Hollywood” obtained by the Washington Post.
Granted, the GOP candidate’s controversial rhetoric dates back to the announcement of his presidential run in 2015. Earlier this year, broadcast journalist Keith Olbermann moved out and eventually sold a three-bedroom unit in Trump Palace in New York City on grounds that he wanted to dissociate himself from the demagogue politician’s “very name.”
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Daniel Neiditch, president of luxury real estate brokerage River 2 River Realty, told Realtor.com that Trump’s image presented problems to Hispanic clients. “We had a few people say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable buying in a building with Trump’s name on it,’” he said.
Waning interest in Trump homes may have less to do with the opprobrium around the presidential contender than the quality of his products. Citing an anonymous source, Realtor.com noted that Trump’s buildings look dated and formulaic, with monotonous lobbies and features, next to properties recently coming online across the US. “They’re considered generic, upper-middle-class properties,” the source said. “The upper end of what’s being built now is not comparable.”
Trump’s brand has not entirely lost its sheen outside the US. In Southeast Asia, he has licenced his name to resorts and a condominium tower in Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively. “His name still carries weight even though some people are offended by some things he’s said,” Neiditch said.
Read next: Donald Trump: ‘I am hard to please and pleased when I am’
Source: Property Report