The median price for U.S. luxury homes rose 9% year over year to a record $1.225 million in the first quarter of 2024, according to a new report from the real estate company Redfin. That’s twice as fast as the rate for non-luxury homes, which reached a median price of $345,000 in the three months ending March 31, up 4.6% from the same period last year.
These figures are based on Redfin estimate market values. The company defines luxury homes as those in the top 5% of their metro area based on market value. Non-luxury homes fall in the 35th to 65th percentile of their metro area.
According to the report, luxury home sales rose 2.1% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, up for first time since August 2021. Sales of non-luxury homes fell 4.2%.
The report said this discrepancy was due to affluent home buyers being able to pay in cash, resulting in them not being affected by high mortgage rates. The weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the first three months of the year was between 6.62% and 6.9%, according to FreddieMac.
“People with the means to buy high-end homes are jumping in now because they feel confident prices will continue to rise,” said David Palmer, a Redfin Premier agent in the report. “They’re ready to buy with more optimism and less apprehension.”
Although new listings for upscale homes surged 18.5% in the first quarter, they were still below pre-pandemic levels.
U.S. metros with the highest median sale price for luxury homes
- 1. San Francisco, CA — $4.8 million
- 2. San Jose, CA — $4.7 million
- 3. Anaheim, CA $4.2 million
- 4. Los Angeles, CA — $3.5 million
- 5. New York, NY — $3.25 million
- 5. San Diego, CA — $3.25 million
- 6. Miami, FL — $3.1 million
- 7. West Palm Beach, FL — $2.93 million
- 8. Oakland, CA — $2.9 million
- 9. Seattle, WA — $2.7 million