Purchases of high-end homes in the U.S. jumped 26 percent year over year since the end of April, according to a report by the real estate brokerage firm Redfin.
High-end home prices rose in all of the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas, which outpaced the 17.8% gain in purchases of affordable homes and the 14.8% increase in purchases of mid-priced homes.
Austin, TX led the way with a 24.1% jump, followed by San Diego, CA (+18%), Miami (+17.7%), West Palm Beach, FL (17.6%) and Phoenix (+17.2%).
“In the high-end market, we’re not only seeing multiple offers—we’re seeing buyers waiving appraisal and inspection contingencies, which doesn’t normally happen. The biggest driver is the influx of people from California. Still, competition remains toughest for buyers of affordable and mid-priced homes.”
—Vincent Shook, a Phoenix-based Redfin real estate agent
Many of the metros at the top of this list are popular destinations for people who have left big cities in search of relative affordability, space and/or sunshine during the pandemic. Phoenix was the number-one destination for Redfin.com users looking to move to a different area in April, with Austin and Miami not far behind. That’s based on net inflow—a measure of how many more Redfin.com home searchers looked to move into a metro than leave.
Read the full report here.
