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:
- Heber, Utah
- 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.
Although $1 million no longer marks the entry to luxury, it remains a powerful psychological benchmark. Nationwide, million-dollar homes comprise just 13% of overall listings, and in metros 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.
According to Realtor.com, markets leading the way in metros with the most million-dollar listings was New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York/New Jersey, followed by:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
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.
Click here for more on Realtor.com’s “What is Luxury?” report.
