Luxury home sales down nationally, and in Seattle

The surge in luxury home sales has washed out nationwide, including in Seattle.

Online real estate brokerage Redfin says September to November saw the biggest decline on record of luxury home sales.

Sales are down 38% compared to the same time last year. Sales of nonluxury homes are down 31%. In Seattle, the sales drop was more significant in both categories — 46% and 41% respectively.

Redfin says there are a few reasons why luxury purchases are down. Luxury items are among the first things to get cut during times of economic stress. Inflation, higher interest rates, stock market woes, and fears of a recession are all playing into purchase decisions.

Redfin further notes that luxury properties are often investment properties and home values are expected to fall in 2023.

“There has been a small shift in the market that's not fully showing up in the data yet," said Seattle Redfin agent Shoshana Godwin. "With mortgage rates falling, a lot of house-hunters see this as their moment to come back and compete. Many of my buyers are taking out jumbo loans—mortgages typically used for purchases of high-end homes. While some data shows jumbo mortgage rates above 6%, some of my buyers are getting rates in the low 5% range.”

Luxury homes cost a median of $1.1 million, nationally, as of Redfin's latest reports.