Luxury Homes Sales Post Biggest Decline in Nearly 2 Years

April showers brought glowers from those in the luxury residential real estate space.

The luxury housing market hit its most significant slowdown in nearly two years last month, as pending sales dipped 9.9 percent annually in April, according to a Redfin report. That marked the steepest yearly decline since August 2023 and the lowest April performance in over a decade.

By comparison, non-luxury pending sales only declined 3.4 percent from last year, though the segment also was at its slowest since 2014.

Luxury home prices reached near-record levels with a median of $1.35 million, up 6.5 percent from last year. Despite the steeper price tags, more wealthy buyers adopted a wait-and-see approach as economic uncertainty and stock market volatility shook their confidence, explained Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari, adding that many high-end buyers rely on stock sales to fund substantial down payments.

“As a result, what is usually a fiercely competitive space is cooling,” Bokhari said in Redfin’s press release.

While luxury sales as a whole declined, the most desirable properties continued moving quickly. Luxury homes still sold in a median of 52 days — virtually unchanged from last year — with over 25 percent going under contract within a week. Quality properties with motivated sellers continued to find buyers despite the broader market contraction.

Geographically, the downturn is impacting some regions more than others. West Palm Beach led price growth at 25.8 percent, while San Francisco posted a 2.2 percent price decline; the California city simultaneously achieved the largest sales increase (matched with Los Angeles) at 18.3 percent. Florida markets, particularly Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, struggled as sales dropped over 25 percent in each.

With luxury inventory climbing 7 percent to four-year highs for April and new listings increasing by 7.3 percent, sellers face increased competition.

The report’s price-tier data is recorded in rolling three-month periods, meaning this report covered February through April.