Luxury Home Sales See Biggest Dip Since 2012

Luxury home sales tanked by 28.1% YOY in the three months ending August 31, the biggest drop since 2012, according to new Redfin data. The decline overtook even the 23.2% drop that happened at the beginning of the pandemic, when home sales slowed to a crawl in every area. Non-luxury home sales also fell by the largest margin on record, but in a far less dramatic drop of 19.5%, a change of 0.5%. The same stressors that are beating down the non-luxury market are impacting high-end buyers: low inventory, rising rates, and economic uncertainty. “High-end-house hunters are getting sticker shock when they see the impact of rising mortgage rates on paper. For a luxury buyer, a higher interest rate can…