Luxury Housing Market Makes Gains in the Third Quarter

Whispers of a recession are not scaring away homebuyers ready to spend big bucks. Third quarter results show year-over-year gains in the price of luxury homes as well as both the number of sales and the amount of luxury homes on the market.

Sales of homes priced at or above $1.5 million increased 3.2% annually, a sign that the high-end market is moderating after recession fears marred the first two quarters.

The average sale price for luxury homes nationwide rose 0.3 percent year over year to $1.6 million in the third quarter of 2019. Though that’s essentially flat, it marks the first time luxury prices did not drop after three straight quarters of declines.

For this analysis, Redfin tracks home sales in more than 1,000 cities across the U.S. (not including New York City) and defines a home as luxury if it’s among the 5 percent most expensive homes sold in the quarter. In the other 95 percent of the market, home prices increased 3.6 percent annually to an average of $319,000 in the third quarter.

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