High-end retailers Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus are reporting stronger sales. At the Ed Morse car lot in Brandon, Cadillac sales in April nearly tripled from a year ago, while its sister dealership in Tampa is having a run on the high-end SRX SUVs.

And Jackie Colson-Miller, a South Tampa real estate agent dealing in luxury properties, has trouble finding enough houses in the $1.2 million and up range to satisfy deep-pocketed, out-of-town buyers.

The luxury buyer is coming back.

Perhaps wiser, decidedly pickier and more practical. But back in the game, nonetheless.

And with the combination of plenty of disposable income and plenty of bargains, the wealthy are best positioned to lead any nascent recovery of consumer spending. Last week, retailers reported tepid sales for May, up less than 3 percent, with luxury spending one of the few bright spots.

Luxury sales, in fact, grew more than three times faster last month than overall retail sales, according to a report from MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.

In their annual survey of affluence and wealth in the United States, American Express Publishing and Harrison Group predicted the first comeback year in three years in retail spending. That infusion, it predicts, will be confined to the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans. “The remaining 90 percent of the population will spend either the same — or less — than they have been spending since the Great Recession began in 2007,” the survey found.

via Wiser, cautious luxury retail buyers are back in the game – St. Petersburg Times.

Last week, the owners of a 75-room Hampton Inn, 11740 Tampa Gateway Blvd. in Seffner, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tampa. Chapter 11 allows a company to reorganize its finances while protected from creditors.

The hotel's owners opted for bankruptcy when Bank of America started foreclosure proceedings, according to bankruptcy court documents. The bank claims it is owed at least $5.5 million.

Revenues at the Seffner hotel fell about 30 percent last year from 2008, although revenues have picked up recently, the owner of the motel, Llenroc Hospitality, says in documents.

Other small hotels also are looking to refinance or discharge debts in bankruptcy lately.

In mid-April, Grayl's Hotel, a small Spanish Mission-style hotel overlooking the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront, filed for bankruptcy protection. In court documents, its owner says cash flow has suffered in the past two years, leaving it unable to pay its recurring bills.

via Bankruptcy filings rise among small hotels around Tampa.

Why should we care? Unlike at the state fair, there is no prize for guessing right. Still, if we can track the number of these REO (“real estate owned”) homes, we can get some sense of how banks and others are doing in their efforts to dispose of the properties and how much longer they will be weighing on the housing market.

The good news is that two of the leading contenders in this guesstimating game–Tom Lawler, an independent housing economist and gentleman farmer in Leesburg, Va., and Robert Tayon, an analyst at Barclays Capital in New York–have been comparing their methods recently and learning from each other. Both are in the same ballpark and both say the REO count is on the rise.

Mr. Lawler estimates there were 574,000 one- to four-family REO homes at the end of the first quarter, up from 518,000 at the end of 2009 but well below a peak of 668,000 in the third quarter of 2008. More modest (honest?) than most economists, Mr. Lawler describes his estimates as “crude” and “a work in progress.” He figures his tally is too low–he can’t find good data on all of the thousands of REO owners– but still “indicative” of the trend.

via More Bank-Owned Homes Likely to Hit the Market – Developments – WSJ.

Many Four Seasons hotels have stopped displaying huge vases of fresh flowers. Others are closing their high-end restaurants on slow days. And some have begun outsourcing laundry.

The moves may seem small—and many guests won’t even notice them—but they are seismic for a brand like Four Seasons, which built its reputation on impeccable service and pioneered labor-intensive perquisites like in-hotel spas and free shoe shines.

In the past, the company, which holds long-term contracts with the hotels it manages, shrugged off downturns as passing cycles that didn’t warrant altering its expensive but successful formula. This time, though, Isadore Sharp, Four Seasons’ founder and chief executive, agreed to some concessions that wouldn’t hurt service.

via Four Seasons Agrees to Cost Cuts – WSJ.com.

“Our business performed exceptionally well in the first quarter, continuing the broad-based improvement we began to experience in the second half of 2009,” chairman/CEO Michael J. Kowalski says in a release. “Sales growth was again achieved in most countries and product categories, as consumers around the world continued to turn authentic luxury brands with a legacy of excellence in design and craftsmanship.”

via MediaPost Publications With Sales Up 22%, Tiffany Steps Up Marketing 05/28/2010.

The report which takes a broad overview of the market, shows the trend for originations flattening, as credit availability remains “negative” and the desire of Americans to form households is “neutral”.

The inaugural issue of Housing Market Insights is aptly titled: “The Long Road Home” as is generated by the investment bank's securitized credit department. Mixed with the above consumer sentiment and market realities, the analysts also note some hard figures.

via Shadow Inventory Could Take Four Years to Clear: Morgan Stanley « HousingWire.

The co-creator of the Case-Shiller index, who predicted in 2005 that the housing bubble would burst, is raising concerns that the worst may be ahead. That fear is shared by other economists who point to weak job growth, tight credit and many more foreclosures ahead.

“I'm worried still about the risk of a double-dip,” economist Robert Shiller said in an interview.

The month-to-month drop from February to March marked the sixth straight decline. Prices in 13 of the cities fell. Only six metro areas recorded price gains. One, Boston, came in flat.

via US housing slump not over, data shows – Yahoo!7 Finance News.

via MediaPost Publications Study Finds Affluents Believe Recovery Is Here 05/24/2010.

While the recession cut deeply into business and leisure travel at all hotels, luxury hotels were hit the hardest. It didn’t help the Ritz that its name was a symbol of the rich life.Now, however, that segment is reporting the strongest recovery. For the week that ended May 1, the luxury hotel niche reported the sharpest increases in both occupancy and revenue per available room of any segment in the domestic hotel industry, according to Smith Travel Research, the hotel financial analysis firm.

via On the Road – At High-End Hotels, Business Is Looking Up – NYTimes.com.