The internet has looksmaxxing. Billionaires have landmaxxing. While the first is about optimizing physical appearance, the second is about controlling something far more limited: space.
Coldwell Banker Global Luxury has dubbed the phenomenon “landmaxxing”—the race to acquire as much surrounding land as possible, often by purchasing neighboring properties to maximize privacy, preserve views, and create multigenerational compounds. According to the brokerage’s new 2026 Mid-Year Report, searches for land climbed 97 percent year over year, while queries for one-of-a-kind properties—including estates, castles, historic homes, branded residences, and private islands—jumped 146 percent.
“It’s about controlling their lifestyle and their surroundings,” explains agent Angel Nicolas of Serhant. Some clients buy neighboring properties to create a larger estate, while others hold onto them for future development or to pass down to the next generation. “Your home isn’t just the four walls you live in—it’s the entire experience of the neighborhood around you,” he says. “If you have the chance to own what’s next door, it can give you both peace of mind and flexibility for the future.”
Some of the country’s most recognizable billionaires are already putting the strategy into practice. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has spent about $234 million assembling three waterfront estates on Miami’s Indian Creek Island. Meanwhile, Citadel founder Ken Griffin has spent more than a decade piecing together roughly 25 contiguous acres in Palm Beach, where he’s now developing what could become one of the world’s most valuable private residences.
