All Cash, $1.4 Million and Up: What Luxury Means in the DC Region

• April 26th

by UrbanTurf Staff

The term "luxury" has been applied broadly in the housing market, but a new report aims to more squarely identify this sector for the DC region, while offering a sense of the state of the market so far in 2024. 

Bright MLS recently released its Mid-Atlantic Luxury Housing Report which looks at the DC regional market, as well as other areas in the Mid-Atlantic. For the DC area, the price benchmark for luxury homes was set at $1.45 million and up, the highest price point of any area covered in the report. 

"Luxury homes are those with prices in the top 5% of the market," the report stated. "The ultra-luxury market comprises homes in the top 1% of the market."

While the high end of the market in our area has slowed down in the first quarter compared to years past, it would be misleading to call this sector slow. More than 1 in 3 luxury homes sold for above list price this year, as homes on median were on the market for two weeks or less. Cash sales made up 32% of all luxury transactions in the region, and in DC proper, that percentage rose to 40%. 

"The strong sales activity in the luxury market reflects the fact that luxury buyers are less sensitive to elevated mortgage rates," the report found. "Luxury buyers likely remain in stronger financial situations than the overall pool of buyers, as consumer credit card and other debt rises and savings rates fall."

Photo by Craig Westerman. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/all_cash_14_million_and_up_what_luxury_means_in_the_dc_region/22239.