Realtor.com finds the luxury threshold has jumped from $796K in 2016 to $1.3M today, with true high-end homes now starting closer to $2M. (Peck, 2025)
"Realtor.com’s new “What Is Luxury?” report reveals that the threshold for what qualifies as a luxury home has risen from $796,922 in 2016, to approximately $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.”
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, Realtor.com defines the thresholds as:
- Entry-level luxury: The top 10% most expensive homes nationwide; starts at $1.3 million
- High-end luxury: The top 5% of homes nationwide; starts at $2.0 million
- Ultra-luxury: The 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."
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.
Leading the way was Rifle, Colorado, followed by:
- Key West-Key Largo, Florida
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, Connecticut
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 markets with vacation havens dominate the nation’s highest entry-level luxury prices."
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