A million-dollar home used to be the epitome of luxury, but Realtor.com®‘s new What is Luxury Report shows that the luxury home threshold has risen from $796,922 in 2016 to about $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.”
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The New Luxury Home Benchmarks
Luxury isn’t a fixed price point, that’s why Realtor.com®‘s report defines it by the share of the most expensive homes, both nationwide and in each market. 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, the thresholds look like this:
- Entry-level luxury: The top 10% most expensive homes nationwide; starts at $1.3 million
- High-end luxury: Top 5% of homes nationwide; starts at $2.0 million
- Ultra-luxury: 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.
Where Luxury Costs the Most: Coastal Markets Lead
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. 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 enclaves and vacation havens dominate the nation’s highest entry-level luxury prices.
Top 10 Metros With The Highest Entry-Level Luxury Home Prices (July 2025)
| Top 10 Metros by 90th Percentile Listing Price | |||||
| Rank | Area | Metro or Micro | 10% Most Expensive Listings Starting Point | Million Dollar Listings Count | Multiple to Median Listing Price |
| 1 | Rifle, Colo | Micro | $16,475,000 | 515 | 9.7 |
| 2 | Heber, Utah | Micro | $6,800,000 | 1,029 | 4.0 |
| 3 | Key West-Key Largo, Fla | Micro | $4,500,000 | 713 | 2.7 |
| 4 | Los Angeles-Long Beach- Anaheim, Calif | Metro | $3,995,000 | 10,840 | 2.4 |
| 5 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, Conn | Metro | $3,950,000 | 587 | 2.3 |
| 6 | Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii | Metro | $3,900,000 | 724 | 2.3 |
| 7 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif | Metro | $3,499,000 | 587 | 2.1 |
| 8 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif | Metro | $3,495,000 | 1,179 | 2.1 |
| 9 | Barnstable Town, Mass | Metro | $3,495,000 | 561 | 2.1 |
| 10 | Naples-Marco Island, Fla | Metro | $3,408,844 | 1,880 | 2.0 |
The New Luxury Landscape
Although $1 million no longer marks the entry to luxury, it remains a powerful psychological benchmark. Nationwide, million-dollar homes still make up only 13% of listings, and in metros long 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.
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.
Top 10 Metros With The Most Million-Dollar Listings (July 2025)
| Rank | Area | Metro or Micro | Million Dollar Listings Count | 10% Most Expensive Listings Starting Point | Share of Million Dollar Listing | Multiple to Median Listing Price |
| USA | USA | 145,006 | $1,249,990 | 13.2 % | 2.9 | |
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J | Metro | 11,980 | $2,887,829 | 33.7 % | 6.7 |
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach- Anaheim, Calif | Metro | 10,840 | $3,995,000 | 53.7 % | 9.3 |
| 3 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla | Metro | 10,074 | $2,087,674 | 20.9 % | 4.9 |
| 4 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash | Metro | 3,147 | $1,927,710 | 31.5 % | 4.5 |
| 5 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas | Metro | 2,998 | $994,190 | 9.7 % | 2.3 |
| 6 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, Calif | Metro | 2,849 | $2,903,193 | 46.4 % | 6.8 |
| 7 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif | Metro | 2,844 | $2,649,775 | 45.0 % | 6.2 |
| 8 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H | Metro | 2,546 | $2,603,053 | 36.7 % | 6.1 |
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga | Metro | 2,485 | $938,150 | 8.7 % | 2.2 |
| 10 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C-Va.-Md.-W.Va | Metro | 2,457 | $1,451,719 | 18.3 % | 3.4 |
