Greg Spencer is CEO of Colorado-based Timbers Resorts, a developer and operator of luxury hotels, residences, residence clubs and fractional vacation homes. Prior to his current role, he was chief operating officer, director of corporate finance, director of new development and project director for several Timbers Resorts properties.
Most recently, his company launched Timbers Kiawah–Ocean Club & Residences, the first private residence club on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, a collection of 21 residences across three oceanfront buildings.
We caught up with Mr. Spencer, 48, to discuss the reason behind ever-rising new development prices, the U.S.’s most surefire real estate markets, and more.
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Mansion Global: Describe your dream property.
Greg Spencer: Something that evokes the way I grew up, which was in a beach house on St. George Island in Florida. It was oceanfront, right next to a state park. We could ride bikes and run around barefoot on the beach.
Most people would expect me to talk about some very luxurious thing. But for me, it would be about providing my kids with the experience I had as a kid.
MG: Do you have a real estate property that got away?
GS: It’s now the Montage on Maui in Hawaii, but it was a property that was in receivership. I really thought we had a great plan to restore the property and get it back to where it was and how it had been envisioned—as a private club. The good news is that it motivated us to find our project on Kauai.
There was another project on Lake Como, CastaDiva, that was one that got away. It was a great opportunity to be in a timeless locale. It was phenomenal.
Personally, I had an opportunity to buy something on the waterfront in Destin, Florida, in the Panhandle, during the credit crisis, but I didn’t.
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MG: What does luxury mean to you?
We’ve sold product as high as $5,600 a square foot, and our average is $2,000 square feet. People think luxury is the most expensive things you can put within four walls. But for us, it’s about having the best location and the best amenities. That to me is more luxury than, say, adding in a tub that costs tens of thousands of dollars.
You see that, especially in Manhattan, luxury often misses the mark. I was seeing $3,000-plus a square foot in places that were not A-plus locations. If it’s not an appealing location, it doesn’t matter what finishes are.
It’s the total package—it’s about the location and the experience together.
MG: What area do you think is the next hub for luxury properties?
GS: I’d say the East Coast [of the U.S.] generally. Florida is always going to be great, but coastal Carolinas and Georgia are growing—places like Highlands, North Carolina, and Cashiers, North Carolina. People are moving to these locales. And there are great parts of Florida that are undiscovered, like Flagler Beach. There are hidden parts of the state are very authentic to a beach atmosphere.
People still want a luxury home, but in a place that’s a little more accessible, where they can also explore with a boat.
I know everyone talks about the Caribbean. It’s a tough market. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in Baha Mar in the Bahamas.
There are a lot of islands that could take off.
The Chinese are discovering the world—Paris, Milan, Rome, the U.K. and New York. Americans are more limited. Many of our high-end homes are concentrated in places like the Hamptons, Florida, Aspen, etcetera. And new locales don’t happen overnight.
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MG: What’s the biggest surprise in the luxury real estate market now?
GS: Where prices have had to go, and what you have to be at to cover your costs. There are a lot of factors. There are anti-development factors in some of these areas. Also the "people should pay to play" attitude. The only thing you can build is luxury. A lot of these communities are grappling with how much development is good development, and there’s a punishment of developers. What ends up happening is that you’re inadvertently affecting the prices.
In Kauai, for example, you’re looking at $650 to $850 a square foot just for construction—not land, materials, sales or marketing. There are not that many places that can carry costs like that.
MG: Where are the best luxury homes in the world and why?
GS: I have to say Aspen has some of the most beautiful homes in the world, and if you look at the architecture and how talented those architects are, it’s really amazing. Hawaii is another great place. If you look at some of the landscapes—the colors are so bright. You want to have a neutral palette inside so the outside pops.
I like the lowcountry in South Carolina. Kiawah Island and Charleston have some great architecture. They’ve been able to constantly reinvent themselves. Charleston has been around for 300-plus years. You have traditional homes that have been landmarked. And even the new builds take what you find in the local environment and do it in a current way. They do that in Aspen, too.
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MG: What’s your favorite part of your home?
GS: We’ve just moved from Aspen to Florida, but my favorite part of my home in Aspen was a screened-in outdoor porch that is 500 square feet. I had my 50-inch TV out there, comfortable seating. There was a long-range mountain view. You could just take in the fresh air and watch TV, too. I liked having that outdoor lanai area. I don’t do well sitting inside, in a hotel room, for example.
We put so much money into beautiful bathrooms and living rooms, but everyone gravitates to that outdoor lanai, porch or patio. They’re the best of both worlds. You can have your creature comforts and take in the fresh air.
MG: What best describes the theme to your home and why?
GS: Our house in Aspen, and what I plan to do in Florida, is "mountain chic." If you look at our resorts, we have it, too. I like to copy some of our designers. You can have the stone fireplace with the big thick, reclaimed wood mantle, but it doesn’t also mean you need to have big furniture, and everything has to be brown.
I like to have elements and architecture that reflects the surrounding area. But it doesn’t all have to be the same style. You can have wide-plank floors and silk-covered chairs. That’s how we’ve done it. And it’s not so modern that it’s not kid-friendly. You don’t want to be too predictable, like, we’re in mountains so we need a brown couch and plaid throw. Our colors tend to be blues and greys.
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MG: What’s the most valuable amenity to have in a home right now?
GS: An outdoor lanai. Having that space where you have grills, an outdoor kitchen, that extended living area. That’s where real interaction happens.
When you’re outside, it’s more communal. That gives you the opportunity to connect.
MG: What’s your best piece of real estate advice?
GS: It’s going to sound ridiculous, but it is to spend for the location. People in real estate often covet a location, but rationalize a different location and I think they regret that.
For example, Aspen is Aspen. If you want to be there, be there; 25 to 30 minutes down the road is not it.
And be realistic about what you’re willing to do with a second home. People think they can maintain something, or don’t need someone to take care of it, or just think they’ll rent it out. But someone needs to interact with those people. There’s a lot to do/take care of with a second or third home.
I have friends who I know can afford our product, but out of principle decide to do it themselves instead. And they end up selling their house after a couple of years, because they’re tired of it, and don’t want to deal with it anymore. There’s this idyllic idea of owning a second home, but the reality is you can become a slave to it. Trying to have a second home 3,000 miles away from where you live is dangerous.
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MG: What’s going on in the news that will have the biggest impact on the luxury real estate market?
GS: It’s the overall economy, and just kind of how people feel about America. I’m not talking about the geopolitical situation; it’s about how people feel about business, whether are they in an area that’s vibrant and growing, and whether their businesses are on good footing.
A lot of our customers can "ride out a storm," so to speak, but how their businesses are faring, that affects them.
People are feeling like, well, the sky hasn’t fallen. The market is growing. We see some resilience. But I also see people are really cautious. They’re asking a ton of questions. They ask about what happens if the stock market crashes. But that tends to be more for aspiration luxury, and we’re north of that.
MG: What is the best area now for investing in luxury properties?
GS: I’ll call it beachfront, and that can mean a lot of different things. Beachfront will always have value. To the extent that you can buy something that’s oceanfront, you should. It’s a scarcity thing. That’s the one thing that I think is a negative about the Smoky Mountains, the mountains of North Carolina. There’s no scarcity there. It’s not like lake or oceanfront, or even ski in or ski out. Being in an A-plus market, if you can afford it, is going to have value.
I worry about places like Manhattan and Miami where foreign nationals are so common, because what happens when the dollar value changes, or there are other currency changes? It’s easy to get swayed by the ever-increasing dollar, but people need to know that’s not timeless. That’s where people are parking money.
But if you can get waterfront or oceanfront, that’s enduring value.
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MG: If you had a choice of living in a new development or a prime resale property, which would you choose and why?
GS: I’d be in a new development just because I like more current architecture. I’m going to contradict myself, because not all oceanfront properties have been built with the best architecture. But something new with a good balance of architecture, service and locale is ideal.
MG: What area currently has the best resale value?
GS: Aspen. They had a dip for about a year after the credit crisis. Their dip and someone else’s dip are different, though. It went from, like $2,000 a square foot to $1,200 a square foot. It’s one of the most unique areas of the world. Of course, there are other places that are similar, like Palm Beach, but the core of Aspen has tremendous resale values.
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