The luxe life
Houston unlocks top-drawer ranking for most million-dollar homes in the U.S.
With median home prices sitting at $340,000, it takes quite the leap for the average Houston home to be considered a luxury listing. And yet there are plenty; 11.4 percent of all real estate listings in Houston are homes worth more than $1 million, according to a new study.
The report, by online real estate marketplace experts Point2, ranks Houston No. 18 nationwide among U.S. cities with the highest shares of luxury homes. Houston ranks No. 3 in Texas, with Austin and Dallas in the top two.
In Point2's 2021 report, Houston ranked No. 14 with only 13.1 percent of real estate listings with a price tag for more than $1 million. These new findings confirm that Houston is on the rise as the most active housing market, while also opening up possibilities for redefining what the term "luxury" means for real estate in 2023.
"Once used to describe famous estates recognizable by name alone or opulent residences redefining the apartment concept, luxury may now be reduced to a convenient location and cushy amenities," the report says. "Its meaning varies even further when analyzing different-sized markets across the United States, beyond the well-known house-hunting grounds of affluent home seekers."
Here's how other Texas cities stacked up with listings selling for over $1 million:
- No. 10 – Austin (24.7 percent)
- No. 12 – Dallas (22 percent)
- No. 25 – Fort Worth (3.4 percent)
- No. 26 – San Antonio (2.9 percent)
- No. 29 – El Paso (1.8 percent)
The study looked at all available real estate for sale in the 30 largest, mid-size, and smallest cities in the United States, and categorized the listings by their $1-million-plus price tags. The largest cities also were analyzed for active real estate listings worth over $5 million.
The study admits that luxury homes worth over $5 million are the true indicator of what "real luxury" looks like specifically for the largest American cities. In Houston, only 0.8 percent of real estate listings fit that criteria, earning the city No. 15. Dallas and Austin rank No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, with luxury homes over $5 million making up 1.8 and 1.5 percent of all listings in those cities.
The top 15 largest cities in the U.S. with the highest shares of luxury real estate listings worth over $5 million are:
- No. 1 – Los Angeles (11.6 percent)
- No. 2 – Boston (9.4 percent)
- No. 3 – San Diego, California (7.6 percent)
- No. 4 – New York City (7.4 percent)
- No. 5 – San Francisco (7.1 percent)
- No. 6 – Washington, D.C. (2.1 percent)
- No. 7 – Seattle (2.0 percent)
- No. 8 – Dallas (1.8 percent)
- No. 9 – Austin, Texas (1.5 percent)
- No. 10 – San Jose, California (1.1 percent)
- No. 11 – Phoenix (1.1 percent)
- No. 12 – Las Vegas (1.1 percent)
- No. 13 – Chicago (1.0 percent)
- No. 14 – Nashville, Tennessee (0.9 percent)
- No. 15 – Houston (0.8 percent)
The full report and its methodology can be found on point2homes.com.