Luxury Market Shows Signs of Softening

After years of runaway demand and record-breaking sales, the luxury housing market remains remarkably resilient, but is starting to show signs of exhaustion.

Nationwide, high-end home sales dipped 0.7 percent year-over-year in the three months ending Aug. 31, marking the slowest late-summer stretch for the segment since 2013. Likewise, price growth has slowed considerably. Year over year, home prices have increased by just under 4 percent, which is about half the pace it set this time last year. Inventory is creeping up, as wealthy sellers return to the market and buyers weigh economic uncertainty.

The hesitancy is most visible in South Florida, where the once seemingly untouchable luxury market is showing some cracks. In Miami, deals above $10 million fell by half earlier in the year, and dollar volume dropped a similar 53 percent, according to Knight Frank. Palm Beach has fared slightly better but still saw double-digit declines. Rising insurance premiums, post-Surfside safety regulations and broader economic jitters are tempering high-end buyer activity. Even so, the ultra-luxury tier continues to defy gravity, with nine-figure sales and spec projects keeping dollar volume elevated.

Texas is seeing similar tension at the very top. Of the 40 priciest properties to hit the market since June, only one has sold. Price cuts and relistings are becoming more common above $10 million, though the broader luxury segment is still active and robust.

New York has reversed much of its pandemic-era slowdown. Deals over $10 million nearly doubled year-over-year, and total dollar volume surged 184 percent to $2.9 billion. Demand for trophy condos and luxury townhouses, much of it fueled by foreign buyers, helped NYC outpace global peers like Dubai and Los Angeles. Still, the momentum didn’t fully carry through the summer. During a four-week period in August and September, only 64 Manhattan luxury homes entered contract, down from 87 a year earlier, signaling a temporary pause in activity.

After a slow summer and a rocky start to fall, Los Angeles’ luxury market appears to be regaining its footing. Early September saw signed contracts slide 48 percent from last year, but high-profile properties in Mulholland Estates and Santa Monica sparked renewed activity, pushing weekly asking volume above $200 million. At the same time, some ultra-luxury estates, including many previously owned by celebrities, are selling below original listing prices, showing the top tier recalibrating after pandemic-era highs.

Elsewhere, Chicago continues to carve its own path, setting price records on lakefront North Shore estates as billionaires expand their holdings. And San Francisco is experiencing a surprise resurgence, with luxury sales up 14 percent year-over-year, driven by inflows of AI-generated wealth and tech capital.

Overall, the luxury sector remains healthy, but buyers are increasingly more selective.

There was plenty of other real estate news this week. The richest real estate developer in America cut ties with his son, Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega notched the biggest South Florida office deal this year and an immigration raid at an apartment complex in Chicago sparks national controversy.

Billionaire developer Donald Bren needs only 12 words to cut son loose over alleged scam

Billionaire developer Donald Bren wasted no words cutting off his son David, who stands accused of duping investors in a bogus Beverly Hills luxury club scheme. “We do not have a personal or business relationship with this individual,” a spokesperson for Bren and Irvine Company said. David allegedly used his father’s name to raise millions for “The Bunker,” a $90 million fake private car club that promised members access to supercars, fine dining and celebrity exclusivity.

Inside real estate fight that led to South Shore immigration raid

A massive federal immigration raid at a troubled South Shore apartment complex has exposed a tangled web of foreclosure litigation, landlord mismanagement and rising political tensions in Chicago’s multifamily scene. The 130-unit building, owned by Wisconsin investor Trinity Flood, was already mired in a $27 million Wells Fargo foreclosure lawsuit when hundreds of federal agents descended last week, arresting 37 people and detaining dozens more.

Iron gates & pirate names: How Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling family built a $100 million portfolio of US real estate

The Barzanis, the ruling family in Iraqi Kurdistan, are the most powerful family in Kurdistan, and between 2005 and 2019, Barzani-connected holding companies picked up U.S. real estate worth more than $100 million across 31 properties, according to a wide-ranging investigation led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

Amancio Ortega closes on Brickell tower for $274M –– biggest South Florida office deal this year

Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega just dropped $274 million on the Sabadell Financial Center in Brickell — marking South Florida’s biggest office sale of the year and another splashy all-cash buy for the Zara founder. All-cash players like Ortega are increasingly dominating South Florida’s office scene, sidestepping expensive financing to win deals amid high interest rates.

Pacific Park gets new development team, $12M for affordable housing fund

After years of false starts, Brooklyn’s Pacific Park megaproject is getting a reboot with new developers, new money and another deal to sidestep missed affordable housing deadlines. A joint venture led by Cirrus Real Estate and LCOR has taken over six long-stalled rail yard sites through a foreclosure auction, after Greenland USA defaulted on roughly $350 million in loans.

In Palm Beach, what condo crisis?

In the wake of the deadly Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside, lawmakers passed a slate of new safety laws mandating that condos complete milestone inspections and reserve studies. As the statewide condo market continues to absorb the shock of regulations, Palm Beach, where money is no issue, illustrates how affluent communities are better equipped to handle the impact.

Marty Burger, Andrew Heiberger pay $25M for Midtown South office-to-resi

Developers Marty Burger and Andrew Heiberger scooped up a distressed Midtown South office building for $25 million, marking one of the first major office-to-resi plays since the area’s landmark rezoning. The 85,000-square-foot property will be transformed into 107 studio apartments under the newly approved Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, which aims to bring more than 9,500 housing units to a 42-block stretch.

Jamie Dimon’s $5B Midtown “city” comes into focus

JPMorgan Chase is not just building a headquarters in Midtown Manhattan — it’s building a city. The nation’s largest bank is putting the finishing touches on its 60-story tower at 270 Park Avenue, but Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon’s ambitions stretch across several Midtown blocks

Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell’s former Palisades home to hit market

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s former Pacific Palisades pad hit the market Friday with an asking price nearly double what its current owners paid in 2017. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom home at 1417 Capri Drive spans 6,400 square feet. It’s expected to be listed for $13.5 million, or $2,113 per square foot.