The housing market has cooled from the frenzy of the past several years, but luxury real estate is telling a different story. At the upper end of the market, prices continue to rise, buyers remain active, and homes are selling relatively quickly.
If you own a luxury home and have been considering a move, the current market may offer a better opportunity than the broader headlines suggest.
Luxury Home Prices Are Outpacing the Market
What qualifies as a luxury home varies by market, but generally refers to properties within the top 5% of local home values.
According to Redfin, prices in that segment have been appreciating considerably faster than the rest of the market. While the typical home sale price has increased about 1.5% year over year, luxury home prices have risen nearly 5%.
That difference matters. Much of the recent housing-market conversation has focused on slowing appreciation, but national averages can obscure what is happening at different price points. Luxury homeowners are currently benefiting from a market that has remained comparatively resilient.
And prices are only part of the story.
Luxury Buyers Are Still Buying
Higher-end buyers have also remained more active than buyers at lower price points.
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors, recently noted that sales activity has been strongest toward the upper end of the market. While sales below $250,000 were essentially unchanged from the previous year, sales in higher price categories increased approximately 10%, and sales of homes priced at $1 million or more increased 18%.
That makes sense. Luxury buyers are generally less sensitive to mortgage rates and the affordability pressures affecting the broader market. As a result, demand at the upper end can remain strong even when overall housing activity slows.
Luxury Homes Are Selling Relatively Quickly
That demand is also showing up in market times.
According to Redfin, the median luxury home is currently selling in fewer than 50 days. While that is longer than during the unusually fast pandemic-era market, it remains substantially quicker than the pre-pandemic norms seen throughout much of the previous decade.
For sellers, that combination is important: rising prices, active buyers, and market times that remain historically favorable.
Bottom Line
The luxury market does not always move in lockstep with the broader housing market. Right now, that distinction appears to favor sellers.
If you have been considering selling a luxury home, the question is not simply whether the overall market is strong. It is how buyers are behaving at your price point, in your community, and for homes like yours.
Thinking about selling? Let’s build a strategy around what your home could command in today’s market.