A cooling trend continued in April for top-tier homebuyers
Luxury home buyers stepped back from the market in April, driving pending sales down 9.9% compared to the same month last year—the steepest decline since August 2023 and the lowest April level since 2014.
The pullback occurred despite luxury home prices reaching near-record levels. The typical luxury home sold for $1,348,065 in April, marking a 6.5% increase from the previous year, though slightly below March’s record high. Non-luxury homes, by comparison, saw more modest price growth of 4.1% to a median of $374,598.
“Wait and see” approach amid uncertainties
Economic uncertainty and stock market volatility appear to be driving wealthy buyers to adopt a cautious approach, according to Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari.
“Many luxury buyers are adopting a wait-and-see approach because of volatility across financial markets and shifting tariff policies,” Bokhari said. “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.”
The cooling effect extended beyond pending sales to completed transactions, with closed luxury home sales falling 6.5% year over year in April. Non-luxury sales also declined, dropping 4.3%.
Real estate agents reported noticeable changes in buyer behavior at the high end of the market. Meme Loggins, a Redfin agent in Portland, Oregon, described the current environment as challenging.
“Buyers looking at homes from $1.2 million up are almost non-existent right now,” Loggins said. “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.’”
The reduced demand created more options for those still shopping. Luxury home inventory grew 7% to reach the highest April level since 2021. Non-luxury inventory expanded even more dramatically, increasing 14.7% to the highest April figure since 2020.
Selling at a similar speed
Despite the overall slowdown, desirable luxury properties continued to move quickly. The typical luxury home sold in 52 days, virtually unchanged from 51 days a year earlier. More than one in four luxury homes went under contract within a week, maintaining competitive conditions for the most sought-after properties.
Regional variations emerged across major metropolitan areas. West Palm Beach led price growth with a 25.8% increase to $4,132,048, while San Francisco experienced the only significant price decline at 2.2%, falling to $6,092,801. San Francisco also recorded the largest sales increase at 18.3%.
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