Sales of existing homes priced at $1 million or more jumped 18% year over year in June, while sales below $250,000 were essentially unchanged, according to a National Association of Realtors report published July 27. Transactions above the $1 million mark accelerated even as activity remained constrained at lower price points.
The increase came despite a broader monthly slowdown. Existing-home sales fell 2.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million, according to the organization’s June existing-home sales release. The national median price reached a record $440,600, while unsold inventory represented 4.6 months of supply.
Million-dollar and luxury markets are not the same
The upper end was already showing stronger price and sales momentum before the June figures arrived. The median luxury sale price rose 4.7% year over year to $1.37 million during the three months ending May 31, compared with a 1.5% increase to $377,477 for non-luxury homes, according to a luxury-market analysis published by Redfin.
Pending luxury sales increased 5.2%, while non-luxury pending sales rose 3.6%. The report defines luxury homes as the top 5% of each metro’s price range rather than every property priced above $1 million.
A million-dollar home may be a standard move-up property in parts of San Francisco, New York, Boston, or Los Angeles while representing the top of the market elsewhere. The Close recently examined how luxury price thresholds vary by market and tier.
Local results also varied. Luxury prices rose 15.6% in Tampa and 14.2% in Miami even as non-luxury prices declined slightly in both. San Francisco recorded a 45.9% increase in luxury pending sales, while several metros posted weaker results.
Why affluent buyers respond differently
Larger down payments, home equity, investment gains, and cash purchases can make some affluent buyers less sensitive to short-term mortgage-rate changes. Buyers using conventional financing may still be payment-sensitive, especially where $1 million represents a move-up property rather than traditional luxury.
That financing gap has become more visible as mortgage rates reached a 2026 high in July. Higher monthly payments can quickly reduce purchasing power for first-time and lower-priced buyers, even when demand remains strong. Buyers with substantial liquid assets or home equity may have more flexibility than households struggling to qualify at lower price points.
A July luxury-market report also recorded annual increases in single-family and attached luxury sales across the North American markets it tracks. The report uses market-specific luxury thresholds, so its sales figures are not directly comparable with NAR’s fixed $1 million category.
Higher sales do not eliminate pricing risk
Stronger upper-tier sales do not guarantee that every luxury listing will move quickly. The median luxury home spent 49 days on the market through May, five days longer than a year earlier.
Affluent buyers may have greater purchasing power, but listings that miss local expectations on condition or price can still remain unsold. The increase in million-dollar transactions may also partly reflect appreciation pushing more properties above the $1 million mark. Agents should separate genuine growth in luxury demand from ordinary move-up homes entering a higher price band.
What to pull before your next appointment
Before using the national increase in a listing presentation or buyer consultation, agents should review four local MLS measures:
- Closed and pending sales by price tier.
- Active inventory by price tier.
- Median days on market by price tier.
- Price reductions and sale-to-list ratios by price tier.
June’s figures give agents a reason to examine their own price bands rather than assume every segment is recovering at the same pace. Stronger activity above $1 million may support seller confidence in some markets, while buyers below $250,000 remain constrained by inventory, qualification limits, and monthly costs. Local closed sales, pending activity, price reductions, and days on market will show whether the national divide is appearing in an agent’s own territory.