High mortgage rates hindered housing markets across much of the nation in 2023, but that wasn’t the case for Houston’s ultra-luxury market.
Home sales exceeding the $10 million threshold surged by 75 percent in Houston last year, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing Compass.
However, home sales above $1 million decreased by 8.4 percent in 2023, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
Compass found that seven ultra-luxury residences in Houston changed hands in 2023, in transactions totaling $78 million. That dollar amount marks a 20 percent jump from the previous year, despite the relatively small number of deals. Notably, there were no public deals over $10 million in 2021 or 2020, showing momentum in the high-end market.
Fueling this surge are professionals from various sectors, including energy, healthcare and law.
While eight-figure transactions are on the rise in the Bayou City, they pale in comparison to Manhattan, Los Angeles and Miami. Vacation spots such as Palm Beach, Florida and Aspen, Colorado also rank highly for $10 million-plus sales.
“There are lots of $20 million to $40 million houses in a lot of these resort towns… where people all over the world are shuffling around,” Compass broker Robert Bland told the outlet. “In Houston, though, if you’re going to have an ultra-luxury house, chances are, you live here, you work here, and your business is here.”
Bland was the listing agent for the River Oaks mansion at 3315 Del Monte Drive that recently sold for $12 million to Dr. Calvin Jung, a plastic surgeon who has ties with rapper Drake.
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One standout property on the market is 3 Briarwood Court, listed at an eye-popping $27.5 million. If sold for the asking price, it would set a record for most expensive home sale on record in Houston, topping a $20 million transaction in 2022.
With builders increasingly confident in finding affluent buyers, speculative projects like those by Layne Kelley Homes, which include $25 million and $29 million listings, are becoming more common, the outlet said. Moreover, projections suggest that Houston’s pool of ultra-high-net-worth individuals will continue to expand, further fueling the demand for ultra-luxury properties.
—Quinn Donoghue