The luxury housing market in the United States continues to show strong resilience in a high-interest rate environment. According to the latest report released by the real estate platform Redfin on Friday, during the period from August to October 2025, the median price of luxury homes in the United States increased by 5.5% year-on-year to $1.28 million, reaching a historical high for October, with an increase approximately three times higher than non-luxury homes, which saw a price increase of 1.8%.
Redfin defines luxury homes as the top 5% of residential properties in terms of price in each metropolitan area, while prices of non-luxury homes fall within the 35% to 65% range. All data is calculated on a three-month rolling period and may be subject to revisions.
The report points out that luxury home prices have been consistently outperforming the mid-tier market for nearly two years, indicating differences in purchasing behavior between affluent buyers and regular or first-time home buyers.
Sheharyar Bokhari, Senior Economist at Redfin, stated, “Luxury home buyers often transact in cash, benefit from stock market gains, or require only minimal mortgage applications, making them less sensitive to high interest rates and relatively stable in demand. In contrast, most middle-class buyers tend to wait for reduced mortgage burdens or improved financial conditions before making a purchase.”
Both luxury and non-luxury home sales volumes have increased compared to the same period last year, with luxury home sales volume up by 2.9% and non-luxury home sales volume up by 0.7%. Although overall home prices have shown growth compared to last year, they remain close to lows seen over the past decade, reflecting persistent high mortgage rates and elevated prices continuing to suppress growth in the real estate market.
Jonathan Buch, a high-end real estate broker at Redfin in West Palm Beach, Florida, remarked, “Over the past year, the luxury housing market has indeed shown more resilience compared to the non-luxury or first-time homebuyer market… Challenges in affordability make selling homes below $800,000 more difficult, but sales in the high-end real estate sector remain active.”
The number of luxury homes for sale increased by 2.1% compared to the same period last year, while non-luxury homes for sale increased by 1.4%.
The number of luxury homes available for sale increased by 6.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching a five-year high, while non-luxury home inventory saw a larger increase of 9.5%, reaching the highest level for October since 2019. Although overall inventory has shown an upward trend over the past two years, it remains significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels.
New listings for luxury homes increased by 2.3% compared to the same period last year, while new listings for non-luxury homes decreased by 1.7%.
The median sales days for luxury homes slowed down compared to last year, with October recording a median of 58 days, an increase of 6 days, and non-luxury homes also saw an increase of 6 days to 45 days.
The percentage of luxury homes sold within two weeks decreased by 0.6% compared to the same period last year, while for non-luxury homes, it decreased by 2.9% to 31.3%.
Redfin’s metropolitan luxury housing market data covers the top 50 metropolitan areas in the United States. All changes mentioned below are year-over-year data.
The top three cities with the highest increase in luxury home prices are:
– Warren, Michigan, increased by 14.9% to $1.09 million;
– Milwaukee, Wisconsin, increased by 13.5% to $1.14 million;
– San Jose, California, increased by 11.9% to $5.6 million.
The two cities where luxury home prices decreased are:
– Tampa, Florida, decreased by 2.9% to $1.44 million;
– Oakland, California, decreased by 2.4% to $2.93 million.
The top three cities with the highest increase in luxury home sales volume are:
– Nashville, Tennessee, with a growth of 20.3%;
– Kansas City, Missouri, with a growth of 16.5%;
– Riverside, California, with a growth of 16.4%.
The top three cities with the largest decrease in luxury home sales volume are:
– Philadelphia, a decrease of 15.4%;
– Detroit, a decrease of 14.5%;
– Nassau County, New York, a decrease of 8.7%.
The top three cities with the highest increase in luxury home inventory are:
– Tampa, with an increase of 36.5%;
– Nashville, with an increase of 17.1%;
– Baltimore, with an increase of 16.4%.
The top three cities with the largest decrease in luxury home inventory are:
– Philadelphia, with a decrease of 18.3%;
– San Jose, with a decrease of 18.3%;
– Chicago, with a decrease of 13.1%.
The top three cities with the highest increase in luxury home listings are:
– Tampa, with a 31.6% increase;
– Kansas City, with a 25.2% increase;
– Washington, D.C., with a 12.4% increase.
The top three cities with the largest decrease in luxury home listings are:
– Milwaukee, with a decrease of 24.9%;
– Anaheim, California, with a decrease of 19.3%;
– Nassau County, New York, with a decrease of 15.0%.
The top three cities with the fastest luxury home sales are:
– San Jose, California, in 12 days;
– Oakland, California, in 17 days;
– Seattle, Washington, in 21 days.
The top three cities with the slowest luxury home sales are:
– Miami, Florida, in 139 days;
– West Palm Beach, Florida, in 120 days;
– Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 113 days.
(This article referenced a report from Redfin’s website)