Luxury, high-end homes took longer to sell than in 2016 and had smaller price gains than overall market
Price growth and the pace of sales for U.S. luxury homes weakened slightly in 2017, with the overall housing market outperforming the still-strong upper tier — according to new data from
realtor.com®
. Despite these signs of a slowdown, demand for luxury properties remained red-hot in states like
Hawaii,
Colorado and
California, which saw double-digit price gains in several local markets.
The entry price point for the luxury market – defined as the top 5 percent of transactions based on sales price – rose by 5.1 percent in 2017, compared to a 6.9 percent overall housing market price gain. Luxury properties also took 5.4 percent longer to sell in 2017 than they did in 2016, spending 116 days on market on average.
“Although 2017 was another strong year for the luxury housing market, it was outperformed by the U.S. market overall,”
said Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com
®
. “Age of inventory in the top 5 percent of the market slowed significantly over last year — a telltale sign that the luxury sector as a whole has weakened. Much of this slowing can be attributed to a wider selection of luxury homes for buyers and increased uncertainty over the last 12 months.”
Median sale prices of homes in a dozen counties, including four counties in Hawaii, grew by more than 10 percent in 2017. Prices also rose more than 30 percent in Maui, Hawaii; Eagle, Colo. (near ski resorts Vail, Colo. and Beaver Creek, Colo.); and Brooklyn, N.Y., during that time.
Metric
Luxury Tier (Top 5%)
U.S. Housing Market
Median Sales Price
$804,000
$235,000
Median Sales Price Growth Year-Over-Year
5.14%
6.90%
Median List Price
$1,307,000
$266,000
Days on Market
116 days
71 days
Days on Market Change Year-Over-Year
5.35%
-7.33%
Fastest Growing Luxury Markets
- Primary-Home Luxury Markets: Seattle.; Marin, Calif. (San Francisco Bay Area), and Brooklyn, N.Y., top the list with 12-30 percent growth year-over-year.
- Second-Home Luxury Markets: The Hawaiian Islands of Maui and Kauai; ski towns of Eagle, Colo., and Summit, Utah; and the coastal luxury area of Walton, Fla. dominate the list with 15-33 percent growth year-over-year.
Most Expensive Markets
- Primary Luxury Markets: Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City, San Francisco Bay Area markets of Marin and San Mateo, and Los Angeles continue to top the list. Notably, prices in all markets are also growing faster than the overall national luxury market.
- Second-Home Luxury Markets: Eagle, Colo., Maui and Kauai top the list, with prices in all three markets growing 5-6 times faster than the overall national luxury market.
Fastest Growing Luxury Markets
Rank
County Name
Luxury Sales Price Growth Year-Over-Year
Most Expensive Luxury Markets
Rank
County Name
Luxury Sales Price
Methodology
Realtor.com
®
defines a luxury market as the top 5 percent of all transactions nationally and within a given market based on sales prices from the realtor.com
®
residential home sales database. A total of 74 counties were analyzed as luxury markets with 100 or more $1 million transactions during the January to August 2017 period. All figures reflect yearly averages for that analyzed period.
Realtor.com
®
is the trusted resource for home buyers, sellers and dreamers, offering
the most comprehensive source of for-sale properties, among competing national sites, and the information, tools and professional expertise to help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. It pioneered the world of digital real estate 20 years ago, and today helps make all things home simple, efficient and enjoyable. Realtor.com
®
is operated by News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS
®
. For more information, visit realtor.com
®
.
