Want a life of luxury? The 10 cities where it’s a bargain

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The luxury market drove the pandemic’s heat wave of home price growth, as homebuyers sought out larger luxury properties in which they could shelter-in-place while taking advantage of historically low mortgage rates.

As a result, the median home prices in the general market have risen by about 35 percent in the last four years, as luxury home prices have increased by nearly 50 percent during that period, Realtor.com reported.

In warm-weather hot spots that buyers flocked to during the pandemic, like Reno, Nevada; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Lake Havasu City, Arizona, home prices more than doubled.

However, some luxury markets, particularly those of dense, pricey coastal cities, saw very little price growth, because residents fled those places once they had the option to work remotely. Others had to leave as they were laid off from work and needed to find a more affordable living situation.

One such luxury market is Washington, D.C., where luxury homes are now about 1 percent less expensive than they were in 2020, according to Realtor.com data.

The real estate portal and data company identified 10 markets across the U.S. where luxury home prices rose the least since the start of the pandemic and, therefore, are where luxury bargains can be found today. Luxury home prices were classified as the most expensive 5 percent of all listings in a market, and comparisons were made between luxury prices in April 2020 and April 2024.

Given that several of these cities already had high prices pre-pandemic, there was little room for prices to grow, especially given the economic climate at the time, Realtor.com Senior Economic Analyst Hannah Jones said.

“In a place like Seattle, luxury prices, especially — but home prices overall — kind of settled down during the pandemic because people were moving out of these large coastal cities,” Jones said. “So it makes sense that they didn’t see that same pandemic price hike.”

Dense coastal cities are not the only ones where luxury prices remained stable, however — several small and mid-sized cities in the Midwest have also seen luxury prices remain relatively stable since the pandemic, like Toledo, Ohio, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“These places didn’t see that same pandemic boom in prices all around,” Jones said. “So it makes sense that they haven’t seen the same kind of four-year luxury price growth.”

Slow luxury price growth in some markets may also have been driven by individuals seeking affordability in that metro’s market at large, rather than the luxury market. For instance, many residents of San Francisco high-tailed it to Stockton, California, in the last few years, but they sought out non-luxury properties in their new city, causing median home prices in the general market to increase by nearly 60 percent while luxury prices only rose by 19 percent.

“People were moving from areas often looking for affordability within California, but they weren’t looking for the luxury homes there,” Jones said.

What follows are 10 cities as identified by Realtor.com that have seen the most stable luxury home prices since April 2020, with only the single city with the lowest luxury price growth per state, to ensure geographic diversity.

Washington, D.C.

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $2,995,900+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $2,972,500+

Increase: -1 percent

Number of listings above $2,972,500 in April 2024: 115

Toledo, Ohio

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $324,670+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $335,700+

Increase: 3 percent

Number of listings above $335,700 in April 2024: 18

Winston Salem, North Carolina

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $938,888+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $998,450+

Increase: 6 percent

Number of listings above $998,450 in April 2024: 24

Wichita, Kansas

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $765,000+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $895,858+

Increase: 17 percent

Number of listings above $895,858 in April 2024: 34

Stockton, California

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $849,003+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $1,004,188+

Increase: 18 percent

Number of listings above $1,004,188 in April 2024: 18

Suffolk, Virginia

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $632,765+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $749,900+

Increase: 19 percent

Number of listings above $749,900 in April 2024: 21

Tyler, Texas

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $1,022,273+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $1,219,167+

Increase: 19 percent

Number of listings above $1,219,167 in April 2024: 31

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $1,068,488+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $1,300,000+

Increase: 22 percent

Number of listings above $1,300,000 in April 2024: 47

Tallahassee, Florida

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $669,443+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $814,638+

Increase: 22 percent

Number of listings above $814,638 in April 2024: 54

Seattle, Washington

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2020: $2,350,000+

Most expensive 5 percent of listings as of April 2024: $2,912,450+

Increase: 24 percent

Number of listings above $2,912,450 in April 2024: 81

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Email Lillian Dickerson

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• Source: https://www.inman.com/2024/05/31/want-a-life-of-luxury-the-10-cities-where-its-a-relative-bargain/