Luxury home prices across the United States surged to record highs in September 2025, highlighting how luxury home prices continue to defy the broader housing market slowdown. According to a new report from Redfin, the median price of a U.S. luxury home reached $1.26 million, up 4.8% from a year earlier and marking the highest level ever recorded for September. In contrast, non-luxury homes saw a much smaller 1.8% year-over-year increase, with a median price of $371,583. The study defines luxury properties as those in the top 5% of a metro area’s price range, while non-luxury homes fall between the 35th and 65th percentiles.
Cash and Confidence Drive the Top of the Market
Prices for high-end properties have consistently outpaced the broader housing market over the past two years. Since September 2023, luxury home prices have climbed roughly 11%, compared with just 6% for non-luxury homes. “Luxury buyers are playing by different rules,” said Sheharyar Bokhari, senior economist at Redfin. “They’re not waiting for rates to drop—they have cash, stock gains, and confidence to buy when they want.” High-end buyers, less affected by rising borrowing costs, remain active despite affordability challenges that keep many middle-income households on the sidelines. Many see luxury real estate as a safe haven amid ongoing market volatility.
Sales Levels Stabilize Near Record Lows
Sales for both luxury and non-luxury homes were relatively flat year-over-year—up 0.3% and down 0.3%, respectively—hovering near the lowest September levels since 2012. Pending sales rose slightly, up 1.6% for luxury homes and 1% for non-luxury properties. These small gains suggest the market may have found a floor after one of the slowest years for housing activity in over a decade.
Inventory Rebounds but Remains Tight
The number of luxury homes for sale rose 7.7% year-over-year to the highest September level since 2020, while non-luxury inventory increased 11.4%. However, listings remain well below pre-pandemic levels—down nearly 50% for luxury and 25% for non-luxury homes compared with 2015. “There’s definitely stronger demand for luxury homes, because those buyers are less worried about interest rates,” said Rebecca Love, a Redfin agent in Washington, D.C. “But limited inventory is still keeping prices elevated.”
Homes Taking Longer to Sell
Even as luxury home prices climb, homes are taking longer to sell. The typical luxury property spent 52 days on the market in September, six days longer than a year earlier—the slowest September since 2020. Roughly 27% of listings went under contract within two weeks, compared to 28% a year ago. Non-luxury homes spent 43 days on the market, up from 36 last year, with 33% going under contract within two weeks.
Regional Trends: Florida Leads, But With Volatility
Among the 50 largest U.S. metros, price growth was strongest in West Palm Beach (+14.8%), Newark (+12.3%), and Virginia Beach (+11.2%). Tampa and Oakland were the only metros to record declines. Luxury sales activity surged in San Francisco (+30.5%), Providence (+19.1%), and Fort Worth (+13.5%), but dropped sharply in West Palm Beach (-22.4%), San Jose (-20.8%), and Philadelphia (-16.8%).
Bottom Line
The growing gap between luxury and non-luxury housing highlights how unevenly the U.S. real estate market has adjusted to higher borrowing costs. With affluent buyers largely unaffected by rate changes and buoyed by stock market gains, luxury home prices continue to rise—defying national market trends and reinforcing the resilience of the high-end housing segment.
