Close up of coastline near Palos Verdes
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A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The SpaceX IPO is expected to mint thousands of new millionaires and multiple new billionaires. While current and former employees won’t be able to sell their shares right away, some are already planning how to spend their windfall.
That newfound wealth could have a ripple effect across the luxury property markets near SpaceX’s office hubs and boost spending on watches, private jet charters and other status symbols, experts told CNBC.
Real estate agent Gerard Bisignano said he has recently received inquiries from several long-time SpaceX employees looking for homes in the South Bay area of California. They range in age from their mid-30s to early 40s, he said.
“They seem to be in a state of disbelief themselves that they’re suddenly going to be able to, in some examples, buy a home for their parents. They’re going to have all this discretionary income that they can really do what they want,” said Bisignano, a partner at Vista Sotheby’s.
SpaceX’s California office is a short drive away from the wealthy coastal communities of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Palos Verdes Estates. Bisignano said he expects many SpaceX employees to snap up high-end homes in the area. He noted there was a similar buying spree in the neighborhoods around the Facebook headquarters after that company’s IPO in 2012, with home values there jumping 21%.
Bisignano said he also anticipates an influx in interest for second homes in other scenic California locales like Mammoth Lakes, Palm Springs and Tahoe.
Texas real estate agent Gary Dolch said he’s seeing similar interest from SpaceX employees in the greater Austin area, with SpaceX’s Bastrop campus located roughly 30 miles from downtown Austin. Some plan to buy soon after taking a margin loan, while others are waiting for the IPO lockup period to end, he said.
Prospective homebuyers’ tastes run the gamut from luxury condos on Lake Austin or Lake Travis to 1,000-acre ranches farther from the city, Dolch said. He added that he’s optimistic that the IPO will boost the luxury market in Austin, which has softened over past three to four years.
“It feels like we’re on the verge of the next wave in Austin’s expansion fueled by this tech run,” he said.
The newly wealthy rarely stop their spending spree at a dream home, Bisignano said. He expects buyers to vie for homes with four-car garages to fit their brand new Ferraris.
And while sports cars are a popular choice, luxury watches are a more practical status symbol for every day use.
Paul Altieri, CEO and founder of Bob’s Watches, said a watch is often the first luxury purchase after a major liquidity event. He said customers usually opt for Rolexes as they are instantly recognizable. Models like the Daytona, GMT-Master II and Submariner are most popular, he added.
“The watch becomes a reminder of that accomplishment every time they put it on,” he said. “The stock certificate stays in a brokerage account. The watch goes on your wrist.”
John Shmerler, CEO of The 1916 Company, a luxury watch and jewelry retailer, said customers who have been waiting for years are often willing to pay a premium for pre-owned timepieces by trophy brands like Patek Philippe and F.P. Journe.
The splurge doesn’t stop there. While some SpaceX employees may have already flown first class, the IPO will enable many to fly private.
D.J. Hanlon, executive vice president of sales at Flexjet, and Kolin Jones, founder and CEO of Amalfi Jets, said their private jet companies have seen recent inquiries specifically related to the SpaceX IPO.
Jones said clients are already chartering jets to celebrate the occasion with a trip.
The top choice for celebrating a liquidity event is Las Vegas, especially for younger fliers traveling without children, Jones said. Miami and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, are also popular destinations.
Fliers looking to take the entire family on vacation, however, lean toward Aspen, Colorado, and Yellowstone National Park, Jones said. And Disney World is a classic choice for local families with young children who want to avoid the hassle of airport security, he added.
With newly wealthy customers, the Amalfi Jets sales team sometimes receives follow-up calls from wealth managers asking to cancel their clients’ charter or downgrade to smaller jets, Jones said.
“It is sometimes comical to see the clients arguing with their wealth manager, saying, ‘No, it’s my money, I want the Gulfstream,'” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of people that are flying private for the first time, and I think it’s going to be a really fun spending spree.”
