A million-dollar home used to be the epitome of luxury, but Realtor.com®’s new What is Luxury Report shows that the luxury threshold has risen from $796,922 in 2016 to about $1.3 million today. While a $1 million home was comfortably above the luxury bar in 2016, buyers now need to spend closer to $1.6 million to reach that same level of luxury status.
“While a million-dollar home still represents an important benchmark, it’s not the luxury marker that it once was nationwide and in many markets,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®. “With or without a seven-figure price tag, luxury is often about exclusivity and relative standing in a local market. In many areas a high-end home can rise many multiples above the area’s typical home price. Further, with a dramatic rise in home prices, Realtor.com® data shows just how dramatically the definition of luxury has shifted over the past decade.”
The New Luxury Benchmarks
Luxury isn’t a fixed price point, that’s why Realtor.com®’s report defines it by the share of the most expensive homes, both nationwide and in each market. Nationally, a $1 million listing used to sit just below the top 5% of homes in 2016 and was still among the top 10% before the pandemic. Today, the thresholds look like this:
- Entry-level luxury: The top 10% most expensive homes nationwide; starts at $1.3 million
- High-end luxury: Top 5% of homes nationwide; starts at $2.0 million
- Ultra-luxury: Top 1% of homes nationwide; starts at $5.4 million, where uniqueness, location, and lifestyle amenities often outweigh traditional valuation.
Nationwide, entry-level luxury homes are listed for nearly three times the median U.S. home price of $439,450 (July 2025), while high-end luxury prices start at nearly five times that, and ultra-luxury climbs to more than 12 times the typical home price.
Where Luxury Costs the Most: Coastal Markets Lead
Realtor.com®’s report identified both metro and micro areas across the country with the highest entry-level luxury prices, looking at markets with at least 500 active million-dollar listings in July 2025. While many of these areas are known for overall high housing costs, they also tend to feature wide-ranging real estate markets, where the gap between the typical home price and a luxury property is especially pronounced. Coastal enclaves and vacation havens dominate the nation’s highest entry-level luxury prices.
Top 10 Metros With The Highest Entry-Level Luxury Home Prices (July 2025)
|
Top 10 Metros by 90th Percentile Listing Price |
|||||
|
Rank |
Area |
Metro or Micro |
10% Most Expensive Listings Starting Point |
Million Dollar Listings Count |
Multiple to Median Listing Price |
|
1 |
Rifle, Colo. |
Micro |
$16,475,000 |
515 |
9.7 |
|
2 |
Heber, Utah |
Micro |
$6,800,000 |
1,029 |
4.0 |
|
3 |
Key West-Key Largo, Fla. |
Micro |
$4,500,000 |
713 |
2.7 |
|
4 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. |
Metro |
$3,995,000 |
10,840 |
2.4 |
|
5 |
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, Conn. |
Metro |
$3,950,000 |
587 |
2.3 |
|
6 |
Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii |
Metro |
$3,900,000 |
724 |
2.3 |
|
7 |
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif. |
Metro |
$3,499,000 |
587 |
2.1 |
|
8 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. |
Metro |
$3,495,000 |
1,179 |
2.1 |
|
9 |
Barnstable Town, Mass. |
Metro |
$3,495,000 |
561 |
2.1 |
|
10 |
Naples-Marco Island, Fla. |
Metro |
$3,408,844 |
1,880 |
2.0 |
The New Luxury Landscape
Although $1 million no longer marks the entry to luxury, it remains a powerful psychological benchmark. Nationwide, million-dollar homes still make up only 13% of listings, and in metros long synonymous with upscale living, they are especially prevalent. These “staple” luxury markets consistently lead in million-dollar inventory – places where high-end living isn’t an outlier, but rather the norm.
From California’s coastal enclaves to wealth hubs in the Northeast, just 10 metros account for more than a third (36%) of all million-dollar listings nationwide. Their dominance underscores deep and sustained demand for premium real estate, fueled by international appeal, constrained land supply, and concentrations of high-paying jobs.
Top 10 Metros With The Most Million-Dollar Listings (July 2025)
|
Rank |
Area |
Metro or Micro |
Million Dollar Listings Count |
10% Most Expensive Listings Starting Point |
Share of Million Dollar Listing |
Multiple to Median Listing Price |
|
USA |
USA |
145,006 |
$1,249,990 |
13.2% |
2.9 |
|
|
1 |
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J. |
Metro |
11,980 |
$2,887,829 |
33.7% |
6.7 |
|
2 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. |
Metro |
10,840 |
$3,995,000 |
53.7% |
9.3 |
|
3 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. |
Metro |
10,074 |
$2,087,674 |
20.9% |
4.9 |
|
4 |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. |
Metro |
3,147 |
$1,927,710 |
31.5% |
4.5 |
|
5 |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas |
Metro |
2,998 |
$994,190 |
9.7% |
2.3 |
|
6 |
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, Calif. |
Metro |
2,849 |
$2,903,193 |
46.4% |
6.8 |
|
7 |
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. |
Metro |
2,844 |
$2,649,775 |
45.0% |
6.2 |
|
8 |
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. |
Metro |
2,546 |
$2,603,053 |
36.7% |
6.1 |
|
9 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. |
Metro |
2,485 |
$938,150 |
8.7% |
2.2 |
|
10 |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C-Va.-Md.-W.Va. |
Metro |
2,457 |
$1,451,719 |
18.3% |
3.4 |
Methodology
All data in this report are sourced from Realtor.com® listing trends as of August 2025, reflecting active inventory of existing homes, including single-family residences, condos, townhomes, rowhomes, and co-ops. Listings reflect only those posted on MLS platforms that provide listing feeds to Realtor.com®. New construction listings are excluded unless actively listed on participating MLSs. Luxury segmentation is based on market-specific price percentiles, with the 90th percentile representing entry-level luxury, the 95th percentile marking high-end luxury, and the 99th percentile indicating ultra-luxury. All calculations are based on listing prices, not final sales prices.
Metropolitan and micropolitan areas are defined using the Office of Management and Budget’s OMB-2023 delineations, with Claritas 2025 household estimates used for relative comparisons. Where appropriate, we limited analysis to metros or micros with a minimum threshold of active million-dollar listings to ensure meaningful comparisons. Historical listing trend data extends back to July 2016, but year-over-year comparisons in this report use July 2024 as the baseline.
