According to the Institute’s January 2026 Luxury Market Report the luxury real estate market in December delivered a decisive and confidence-building close to the year for North America’s luxury real estate market—one that challenged seasonal norms and reinforced the sector’s underlying strength.
For luxury real estate professionals, the final month of the year offered valuable insight into how demand, pricing and seller behavior are evolving as the market transitions into 2026.
Sales momentum defies seasonal expectations
Luxury home sales strengthened across both property types. Single-family luxury transactions rose 7.8% year over year, while attached luxury sales increased by 4.1% compared to December 2024. On a month-over-month basis, activity was even more compelling: single-family sales climbed 9.4%, while attached properties surged 15.9% compared to November.
This performance runs counter to traditional seasonality, when luxury markets typically slow between October and January. December sales also exceeded those recorded in November 2024, underscoring that buyer engagement remained active well into year-end.
Pricing trends reflected healthy, disciplined appreciation rather than excess. Median sold prices rose 3.9% year over year for single-family homes and 2.7% for attached properties. Month over month, single-family prices edged up modestly, while attached prices declined slightly.
Inventory growth with selective seller participation
Inventory levels continued to expand, with year-over-year listings increasing by 10.2% for single-family luxury homes and 5.3% for attached properties, offering buyers greater choice and confidence to transact.
Yet seller behavior remained measured. New single-family listings increased year over year but declined month over month, signaling that detached homeowners remain cautious and highly selective about timing. Attached new listings declined both annually and monthly, even as buyer demand increased – suggesting sellers in this segment are carefully weighing value and market conditions before listing.
A market defined by balance, not volatility
On an annual basis, single-family luxury sales outperformed 2024 by 6.1%. Attached sales, while still marginally below prior-year levels, steadily narrowed the gap throughout 2025. By December, the differential had shrunk to just 1.6%, reflecting improving alignment between segments.
Market balance metrics reinforced this stability. Single-family luxury remained firmly in seller-market territory, while attached properties trended back toward a balanced-to-seller-favored environment. An encouraging signal heading into early 2026.
Demand becomes more strategic and purpose-driven
By year-end, luxury demand was clearly no longer homogeneous. Ultra-high-net-worth buyers increasingly view luxury real estate as a tool for capital preservation, diversification and long-term optionality. The mid-luxury segment has been reshaped by newly affluent and move-up buyers who are highly informed, value-conscious and selective.
Across Gen X and Millennial cohorts, demand increasingly favored pragmatic luxury homes – such as those designed for multigenerational living, hybrid work and everyday quality of life rather than purely symbolic status.
Lifestyle alignment has now become one of the strongest drivers of value. Wellness features, sustainability, smart-home infrastructure and energy efficiency are no longer differentiators; they are baseline expectations. Properties that deliver on these attributes continue to command premiums and demonstrate stronger liquidity.
Confident but strategic sellers
Luxury sellers ended 2025 more confident, but also more intentional. Strong equity positions and moderating price growth encouraged patience, while pricing strategies became more data-driven and tailored to specific buyer profiles. Discretion and controlled exposure increasingly defined high-end listing strategies.
Local and global influences
Local market performance diverged more meaningfully across North America, reinforcing the importance of hyper-local expertise. At the same time, global forces, cross-border capital flows, currency dynamics, geopolitical uncertainty and lifestyle mobility, played a growing role, particularly in gateway and lifestyle-oriented markets.
Entering 2026 with structural strength
As the luxury market enters 2026, it does so from a position of balance rather than speculation. Inventory has expanded, pricing remains resilient and demand is increasingly strategic. Success in the year ahead will depend less on broad market momentum and more on targeted value, lifestyle relevance and expert interpretation of evolving buyer behavior.
Luxury real estate has matured into a space where lifestyle, investment strategy and global perspective intersect and where the role of the luxury specialist has never been more essential.
To read the full report, click here.
