Luxury Homes Selling as Briskly as Ever

WASHINGTON - What housing market crash?

That’s what the developers of a spectacular — and spectacularly expensive — luxury home community in Loudoun County are saying when they look at their sales log.

“Our goal this year was to sell 30 lots, and we’ve sold 26 so far,” said Robert Shiels, vice president of sales and marketing for Creighton Farms, which sits on 906 acres just west of Leesburg. An additional five home sites have been reserved, he said.

Creighton Farms, which started selling in January, offers buyers three- to six-acre lots, Ritz Carlton property management services and access to the community’s Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course for prices between $850,000 to $2 million, before monthly dues. That excludes the house, which is custom-built for a separate fee.

The development’s success is emblematic of a regional trend — as overall home sales lag, buyers and sellers dealing with the highest-end residences seem above the fray.

“The housing market slows down [at and below] the $2 million mark, but it doesn’t really affect the $3 million [homes and] on up — where Creighton farms is,” said Jim Brown, owner of local development company Creighton Enterprises. “At the income level they’re at, they’re a little bit immune to the downturn.”

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