A million-dollar home used to be the ultimate symbol of luxury, but that has changed. According to Realtor.com®’s new What is Luxury Report, the luxury home threshold has jumped from $796,922 in 2016 to around $1.3 million today.
Back in 2016, a $1 million home was comfortably above the luxury line. Now, buyers often need to spend closer to $1.6 million to reach that same level.
“While a million-dollar home still matters, it’s not the luxury marker it once was,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®. “Luxury is more about exclusivity and standing out in your local market. With home prices rising so fast, the definition of luxury has shifted dramatically over the last decade.”
The New Luxury Home Benchmarks
Luxury isn’t about a fixed price. Realtor.com® defines it by the most expensive homes, both nationwide and in local markets. Here’s how the numbers break down today:
- Entry-level luxury: Top 10% of homes nationwide; starts at $1.3 million
- High-end luxury: Top 5%; starts at $2.0 million
- Ultra-luxury: Top 1%; starts at $5.4 million, where factors like location, uniqueness, and lifestyle amenities matter more than just price
Across the U.S., entry-level luxury homes now cost almost three times the median home price of $439,450 (July 2025). High-end luxury homes start at nearly five times the median, and ultra-luxury properties are more than 12 times the typical home price.
Where Luxury Costs the Most
Realtor.com® also looked at metro and micro areas with the highest entry-level luxury prices, using markets with at least 500 active million-dollar listings in July 2025. Coastal and vacation markets dominate the list, where luxury homes stand far above typical local prices.
Top 10 Metros With Highest Entry-Level Luxury Prices (July 2025)
| Rank | Area | Type | 10% Most Expensive Listings Start | Million Dollar Listings | Multiple to Median 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
Even though $1 million no longer marks luxury, it’s still a key psychological benchmark. Nationwide, million-dollar homes make up just 13% of listings, and in traditional luxury markets, they remain common.
Only 10 metros account for more than a third of all million-dollar listings nationwide, highlighting strong, ongoing demand for high-end real estate.
Top 10 Metros With Most Million-Dollar Listings (July 2025)
| Rank | Area | Type | Million Dollar Listings | 10% Most Expensive Listings Start | Share of Million Dollar Listings | Multiple to Median 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 | – | – |
Million-dollar homes aren’t the ultimate marker of luxury anymore. With home prices rising across the country, buyers now need to spend much more to reach entry-level luxury, and ultra-luxury homes cost far beyond what most people can imagine.
Coastal and major metro areas continue to dominate the high-end market, showing strong demand and limited supply for premium properties.
Author Profile
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The writer is a real estate journalist specializing in all types of New York City properties, including luxury residences, commercial spaces, and homes.
He also writes humorous articles about real estate, investors, and realtors.
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