Austin, Texas, posted the nation's steepest luxury price decline, while California accounted for four of the 10 markets with the largest annual drops

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The national entry point to luxury housing continued its gradual reset in July, falling to $1,250,750, down 2.7% from a year ago and marking the 29th consecutive month of annual declines, according to the Realtor.com^® July Luxury Housing Report released today. While luxury price thresholds continued to ease nationally, the data show that high-end markets are following increasingly different paths, with some markets experiencing broad price adjustments and others seeing inventory tighten as homes continue to sell quickly.

Price declines extended across every luxury tier. The national threshold for the top 5% of listings fell 1.2% year over year, while the ultra-luxury threshold (top 1%) declined 1.7%. Million-dollar listings also represented a slightly smaller share of the market, accounting for 13.2% of active inventory in July.

Despite lower luxury price thresholds, demand remained resilient. Luxury homes across every tier sold faster than they did a year ago, suggesting that softer pricing in many markets reflects changing inventory conditions as much as changing buyer demand.

"The national luxury market continues to normalize, but the forces driving prices vary significantly from one market to another," said Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com^®. "Some markets are undergoing broader price adjustments after several years of rapid appreciation, while others are seeing luxury inventory move quickly enough that available listings are shrinking."

National Luxury Overview — July 2026

Regional Luxury Markets Are Taking Different Paths
While the national luxury threshold fell 2.7% year over year, local markets continued to tell very different stories.

The Austin, Texas, metro led the nation in luxury price declines in July, with its luxury threshold falling 9.6% year over year to $1,262,726, more than three times the national pace. The metro's million-dollar listing inventory fell 17.8%, and both its 95th and 99th percentile luxury thresholds also posted annual declines.

Boston and San Francisco followed with identical 8.6% declines, though the two markets reached that result in very different ways. Boston's inventory of million-dollar listings grew 7.4% from a year ago, while San Francisco's declined 20.9%. Yet San Francisco's million-dollar homes sold in a median of just 37 days, the fastest pace among the luxury markets analyzed, suggesting inventory is being absorbed rather than accumulating.

San Jose, Calif., showed a similar pattern. Although its luxury threshold declined 6.9% year over year, nearly 62% of active listings exceed $1 million, the highest concentration in the country, and million-dollar homes sold in a median of just 38 days.

"A lower luxury threshold doesn't necessarily mean demand has weakened," Smith said. "In some markets, declining thresholds reflect prices adjusting after rapid growth. In others, like San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., homes are selling so quickly that inventory is turning over faster than it's being replenished. That's why it's important to look beyond prices to understand what's happening in today's luxury market."

California accounted for four of the 10 metropolitan areas with the steepest luxury price declines, highlighting the breadth of price adjustments across many of the state's high-end housing markets.

Metros with the Largest Annual Price Drops

Luxury Homes Continue Selling Faster Than a Year Ago
Although luxury homes took longer to sell in July than in June, a typical seasonal pattern, every luxury tier continued to outperform last year.

Homes in the top 10% of the market sold in a median of 68 days, three days faster than July 2025. High-end luxury homes sold in 76 days, also three days faster year over year, while ultra-luxury homes sold in 91 days, improving by five days from a year earlier.

The results suggest that the luxury market continues to normalize from pandemic-era pricing without experiencing a broad slowdown in buyer activity.

Top 10 Most Expensive Metropolitan Luxury Markets

Methodology
All data in this report is sourced from Realtor.com^® listing trends as of July 2026, reflecting active inventory of existing homes, including single-family residences, condos, townhomes, row homes, and co-ops. Listings reflect only those provided by MLS platforms to Realtor.com^® via a listing feed. 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 ultraluxury. 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 on average over the past year to ensure meaningful comparisons.

Historical listing trend data extends to July 2016, but year-over-year comparisons in this report use July 2025 as the baseline.

Luxury by the Numbers
90th percentile = Entry-level luxury (top 10% of prices)
95th percentile = High-end luxury
99th percentile = Ultraluxury (often rare or custom properties)

About Realtor.com^®
For over 30 years, Realtor.com^® has connected buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance, and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 real estate site REALTOR^® agents recommend, Realtor.com^® delivers consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.

Media contact: Janice McDill, [email protected]

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SOURCE Realtor.com