Luxury homebuyers are pulling back sharply, even as prices continue to rise. According to new data from Redfin, the median price for a U.S. luxury home hit $1,348,065 in April — up 6.5% from a year ago but slightly below the all-time high set in March. Pending sales, meanwhile, dropped 9.9% year-over-year, the steepest annual decline since August 2023 and the lowest for any April since 2014.
“Many luxury buyers are adopting a wait-and-see approach because of volatility across financial markets and shifting tariff policies,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “These high-end buyers often sell stock to help with down payments, but many pressed pause on their home search when the stock market tumbled in April. As a result, what is usually a fiercely competitive space is cooling.”
Luxury Sales Lag Behind As Non-Luxury Also Slows
The broader housing market is also feeling the strain. While non-luxury home prices rose 4.1% to a record $374,598, pending sales for these properties fell 3.4%, also reaching their lowest April level since 2014. Closed sales dipped for both tiers — luxury down 6.5%, non-luxury down 4.3%.
“Buyers looking at homes from $1.2 million up are almost non-existent right now,” said Meme Loggins, a Redfin Premier agent in Portland, Oreg. “Even in nice areas, high-end homes are selling really, really slow. If I have a buyer who finds the perfect house and is ready to make an offer, they tend to sleep on it for a little, and then they come back to me and say ‘nope, I think we’ll wait and see if the price comes down.’”
Inventory is climbing. Luxury home listings rose 7% year-over-year in April — the highest April level since 2021 — while new listings jumped 7.3%. Non-luxury listings grew even faster, up 14.7%.
Still, the time it takes to sell a luxury home has barely changed. The median days on market for a luxury property was 52 days in April, compared to 51 days a year ago. Over a quarter (25.3%) of luxury homes went under contract within a week, a slight uptick from last year.
“Even though luxury sales are down overall, the most desirable homes are still being snapped up relatively quickly,” said Bokhari. “That’s because many wealthy buyers have the means to weather economic uncertainty and make large purchases without overextending themselves.”
By contrast, non-luxury homes are taking longer to sell. Median days on market increased to 45 from 39, while homes going under contract within a week fell by 3.5 percentage points.
Regional Trends: Where Prices And Sales Shifted Most
- Biggest Price Gains:
West Palm Beach (+25.8% to $4.13M), Miami (+22% to $4.37M), and San Jose (+20.8% to $5.5M).
- Price Declines:
San Francisco (-2.2% to $6.09M) and Sacramento (-1.1% to $1.66M).
- Sales Growth:
San Francisco and Los Angeles (+18.3%), Indianapolis (+13.2%).
- Sharpest Declines:
Jacksonville (-27.6%), Fort Lauderdale (-26.7%), Detroit (-25.6%).
- Fastest Sales Markets:
Seattle (5 days), San Jose (10 days), Oakland, and Detroit (11 days).
- Slowest Sales Markets:
Miami (125 days), Fort Lauderdale (112 days), Nashville (97 days).
