Luxury home prices surged 5.5% year over year in October to a record median of $1,278,950, according to a Redfin report analyzing home sales from August through October 2025.
That increase is nearly triple the 1.8% rise seen in non-luxury homes, which hit a median price of $373,249.
Redfin defines luxury homes as those in the top 5% of their metro area based on sale prices, while non-luxury homes fall between the 35th and 65th percentiles.
The widening price gap highlights ongoing strength in the high-end market compared with the broader housing sector.
Why High-End Buyers Are Still Active
“Luxury buyers are still able to move forward in ways that many typical buyers can’t right now, whether that’s because they’re paying in cash, benefiting from stock-market gains, or taking out smaller loans,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari.
“Those advantages make them less sensitive to high mortgage rates, which helps keep demand at the top of the market steadier. In contrast, a lot of middle-income buyers are holding off until monthly payments come down or their financial outlook improves.”
Sales and Pending Deals Rise Slightly
Sales in both segments are up slightly from a year earlier, though still near decade lows for October.
Luxury home sales rose 2.9%, while non-luxury home sales edged up just 0.7%. Pending sales followed a similar pattern, increasing 2.1% for luxury homes and 1.4% for non-luxury.
Inventory Grows Across the Board
Inventory has continued to rise. The number of luxury homes for sale climbed 6.4% year over year, reaching the highest October level in at least five years.
Non-luxury inventory grew even more, 9.5%, also the highest for an October since 2019.
New luxury listings rose 2.3%, while non-luxury listings declined 1.7%.
Homes Are Taking Longer to Sell
Despite the price gains, homes are sitting on the market longer. The median time to sell a luxury home was 58 days in October, six days longer than the same time last year.
Non-luxury homes also took six days longer, with a median of 45 days on market.
Early-contract activity has slowed: 26.7% of luxury listings went under contract within two weeks, down slightly from last year. For non-luxury homes, that share fell more sharply to 31.3%.
Regional Highlights and Laggards
At the metro level, price increases were strongest in Warren, Michigan (+14.9%), Milwaukee (+13.5%), and San Jose, California (+11.9%).
Only two markets saw price declines: Tampa, Florida (-2.9%) and Oakland, California (-2.4%).
Luxury sales were up most in Nashville (+20.3%), Kansas City (+16.5%), and Riverside (+16.4%), while they fell the most in Philadelphia (-15.4%), Detroit (-14.5%), and Nassau County, New York (-8.7%).
Luxury inventory jumped most in Tampa (+36.5%), Nashville (+17.1%), and Baltimore (+16.4%). It declined most in Philadelphia and San Jose (both -18.3%) and Chicago (-13.1%).
Homes sold fastest in San Jose (12 days), Oakland (17 days), and Seattle (21 days). The slowest markets included Miami (139 days), West Palm Beach (120 days), and Fort Lauderdale (113 days).
Luxury Still Has Momentum
Even with much of the housing market feeling stuck, high-end homes are still getting snapped up. As long as well-off buyers stay in the game, prices at the top are likely to keep climbing.
The luxury market is moving on a completely different track than the rest of the housing world. Middle-income buyers are holding back, waiting for rates to drop or for their finances to stabilize.
But wealthier buyers, many of whom don’t rely on large loans or are using gains from investments, are still closing deals.
That divide is becoming more noticeable. For now, luxury real estate is one of the few corners of the housing market where momentum hasn’t faded.