Americans are moving on up.
Redfin reports that luxury home sales in the United states increased 41.5 percent in the third quarter over a year ago – the largest jump since at least 2013. Comparatively, sales of medium-priced homes increased 3 percent and affordable home sales dropped 4.2 percent, Redfin found.
“The luxury housing market normally takes a hit during recessions as wealthy Americans tighten their purse strings, but this isn’t a normal recession,” Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. “Remote work, record-low mortgage rates and strong stock prices during the pandemic are allowing America’s wealthy families to gobble up expensive houses with home offices and big backyards in the suburbs. Meanwhile, scores of lower- and middle-class Americans have lost their jobs or are still renting in the city because they’re essential workers and have to commute into work, so they’re unable to reap the benefits of homeownership.”
California is home to top three areas for luxury home sales increases – Sacramento (up 86.1 percent), Riverside (62.8 percent) and Oakland (60.9 percent).
Sacramento was the most popular destination for homebuyers looking to relocate in July and August, according to an analysis of Redfin.com users. San Francisco was the top origin of out-of-area buyers looking in the Sacramento area.
“It’s well known in the real estate world that luxury properties typically take longer to sell, but this may be starting to change,” Redfin Sacramento agent Kelly Crocker said. “Sacramento has always been a popular landing place for transplants from crowded cities, but now with the pandemic and record-low mortgage rates, it’s becoming an even bigger hotspot for people who have the means to move.”
Luxury home sales declined in just two of the 49 biggest metropolitan areas – Philadelphia (down 8.2 percent) and Nassau County, New York (down 2 percent).
“Philadelphia is seeing more luxury sellers than buyers right now because luxury homeowners are fleeing the city during the pandemic,” Redfin Philadelphia agent Blakely Minton said. “Why spend $1 million on a high-end home in the city when you can get a larger house with land in the Philadelphia suburbs for a more affordable price?”
Here is a look at luxury sales by market:
| Metro area | Homes sold, YoY change | Median sale price | Median sale price, YoY change | Active listings, YoY change | New listings, YoY change |
| Anaheim, CA | 54.0% | $2,675,000 | -0.9% | -3.6% | 28.7% |
| Atlanta, GA | 32.9% | $840,000 | 5.0% | 34.5% | 81.2% |
| Austin, TX | 51.2% | $1,325,000 | 12.0% | 19.5% | 61.6% |
| Baltimore, MD | 48.9% | $840,000 | 3.7% | -0.9% | 25.5% |
| Boston, MA | 16.9% | $1,837,500 | 4.4% | 19.5% | 67.4% |
| Charlotte, NC | 25.0% | $875,000 | 9.4% | -1.4% | 20.3% |
| Chicago, IL | 29.6% | $975,000 | -2.5% | 4.4% | 51.7% |
| Cincinnati, OH | 14.7% | $620,500 | 1.7% | 6.9% | 32.8% |
| Cleveland, OH | 20.2% | $537,000 | 3.0% | -7.2% | 16.4% |
| Columbus, OH | 33.4% | $658,400 | 2.9% | -5.3% | 31.0% |
| Dallas, TX | 56.5% | $900,000 | -0.6% | 4.3% | 28.0% |
| Denver, CO | 57.3% | $1,241,000 | 5.6% | 25.1% | 58.9% |
| Detroit, MI | 14.8% | $507,993 | 3.7% | 35.9% | 68.4% |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | 46.3% | $1,000,000 | 5.3% | 1.2% | 27.5% |
| Fort Worth, TX | 42.3% | $750,000 | 4.4% | 1.1% | 20.4% |
| Houston, TX | 45.3% | $825,000 | 0.4% | 6.3% | 32.2% |
| Indianapolis, IN | 44.8% | $620,000 | 4.2% | 0.5% | 11.6% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 53.9% | $819,000 | 3.8% | 3.0% | 42.4% |
| Kansas City, MO | 45.8% | $649,000 | 3.3% | -19.6% | -2.8% |
| Las Vegas, NV | 48.8% | $800,000 | 0.6% | 19.6% | 49.3% |
| Los Angeles, CA | 30.5% | $3,000,000 | 3.5% | 9.4% | 36.4% |
| Miami, FL | 23.5% | $1,950,000 | 8.3% | 10.4% | 44.3% |
| Milwaukee, WI | 38.0% | $682,500 | 7.3% | 6.8% | 24.9% |
| Minneapolis, MN | 26.5% | $815,000 | 2.4% | 7.5% | 29.8% |
| Montgomery County, PA | 28.4% | $950,000 | 4.1% | 5.8% | 29.5% |
| Nashville, TN | 33.8% | $1,070,000 | 10.8% | 8.1% | 21.7% |
| Nassau County, NY | -2.0% | $1,972,500 | 6.6% | -5.0% | 62.6% |
| New Brunswick, NJ | 46.9% | $1,255,000 | 7.7% | 8.1% | 78.9% |
| Newark, NJ | 37.9% | $1,210,500 | 9.1% | 20.4% | 114.7% |
| Oakland, CA | 60.9% | $2,190,000 | 7.8% | 23.4% | 60.7% |
| Orlando, FL | 31.6% | $725,000 | 2.3% | 9.3% | 38.5% |
| Philadelphia, PA | -8.2% | $830,000 | 3.1% | 19.3% | 41.5% |
| Phoenix, AZ | 49.7% | $1,020,117 | 13.4% | 5.3% | 49.6% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 33.6% | $610,000 | 2.5% | 20.6% | 33.4% |
| Portland, OR | 60.6% | $1,025,499 | 3.1% | 17.6% | 70.2% |
| Providence, RI | 44.6% | $950,000 | 5.6% | 10.5% | 58.1% |
| Riverside, CA | 62.8% | $960,000 | 5.5% | 3.3% | 73.3% |
| Sacramento, CA | 86.1% | $1,200,000 | 3.0% | 22.6% | 71.6% |
| San Antonio, TX | 53.1% | $654,000 | 4.6% | 23.5% | 59.1% |
| San Diego, CA | 41.2% | $2,275,000 | 7.1% | 22.3% | 76.4% |
| San Francisco, CA | 50.0% | $4,500,000 | 0.0% | 41.0% | 49.4% |
| San Jose, CA | 47.6% | $3,750,000 | 4.2% | 31.4% | 41.8% |
| Seattle, WA | 35.1% | $1,983,500 | 4.4% | 11.3% | 51.9% |
| St. Louis, MO | 29.5% | $665,000 | 1.4% | -7.9% | -2.8% |
| Tampa, FL | 36.8% | $853,500 | 5.4% | -1.5% | 24.6% |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 38.0% | $699,000 | 3.8% | -11.3% | 21.6% |
| Warren, MI | 33.1% | $680,000 | 0.7% | 37.4% | 77.4% |
| Washington, DC | 34.3% | $1,350,000 | 6.3% | 18.2% | 39.0% |
| West Palm Beach, FL | 59.7% | $1,737,500 | 8.3% | 17.8% | 55.0% |
| National—U.S.A. | 41.5% | $862,700 | 6.5% | 8.4% | 44.9% |