Up-market transactions picking up?

Here is an interesting development...in some places higher-value houses are finally moving a bit more!  My very successful high-end home builder friend and client reports that his business is at last picking up...in south Florida no less!  I say, "strike while the iron is hot" because when interest rates rise, there will be another adjustment of demand (and therefore pricing) of high-end homes.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/38310197

I'm not predicting doom... just that a great and sustained effort will be needed to extract ourselves from the current economic slump and reduce our massive debt.  To the extent we don't succeed at this, there will be upward pressure on interest rates  To me this means that upticks in the number of high-end transactions will be temporary over the next few years.

- Jeff