Your next luxury client may not look like the one you’re used to. According to a recent Wall Street Journal analysis, America’s “quiet rich” — households worth $30 million to $100 million and beyond — have grown dramatically over the past few decades. Federal Reserve data analyzed by Princeton economist Owen Zidar puts their number at roughly 430,000 households, with about 74,000 above the $100 million threshold.
They don’t make Forbes lists. Many live outside major coastal metros and built their wealth quietly through regional businesses, private-company stakes, and long-held investment portfolios. For the top 0.1% of households, nearly 72% of wealth sits in corporate equities, mutual funds, and private businesses — assets that compounded for decades as the S&P 500 more than tripled. Roughly two-thirds of these households are headed by Baby Boomers. For agents, that adds up to a fast-growing, underserved segment that thinks about a second home differently.
Why the traditional pitch falls flat
The same instincts that made these buyers successful — smart capital allocation, avoiding waste, optimizing return — shape how they view real estate. Paying 100% of the cost for a home used four to six weeks a year, then absorbing the carrying costs and management, doesn’t fit their math. The Journal points to the same shift already underway in private aviation, where co-ownership models like NetJets are seeing surging demand from the multimillionaire class even as the broader market stays flat.
Pacaso – Oak House – 3/18/26 – Kiawah Island, South Carolina (Photo by: Pacaso/Bret Hartman)
The opportunity: position co-ownership as smart ownership
This is where co-ownership through companies like Pacaso opens a new conversation. Buyers own a share of a professionally managed luxury home — not a timeshare and not a rental. They get the appreciation upside, the tax benefits, and a true real estate asset, while sharing carrying costs with a small group of co-owners and freeing capital for the rest of their portfolio.
That framing resonates with clients who value experience and efficiency in equal measure, and it expands your book of business. Buyers who were on the sidelines of a $5 million whole-home purchase can enter a top market at a fraction of the cost, and existing owners can unlock equity while keeping a share of a home they love.
Pacaso – Palma Verde – 5/18/26 – West Palm Beach, FL (Photo by: Pacaso/Bret Hartman)
How agents work with Pacaso
Pacaso partners with real estate agents and compensates them on the sale of each share, so a single listing can generate multiple transactions. The homes span over 40 markets in the U.S., London, Paris and Cabo, each designed and managed to the standard this buyer expects. You bring the client and Pacaso handles everything else from the home to the transaction to the experience. The quiet rich aren’t waiting for luxury real estate to come to them — and the agents who understand how they think will be the ones who earn their business.
To learn more about partnering on co-ownership, visit Pacaso.
About Pacaso: Pacaso is a technology-enabled real estate marketplace that makes second-home ownership simpler through professionally managed co-ownership. Co-founded in 2020 by real estate tech veterans Austin Allison and Spencer Rascoff, Pacaso offers buyers a real stake in luxury vacation homes across the world’s most sought-after destinations. Learn more at pacaso.com.
