America's Oldest vs. Newest Luxury Markets: Realtor.com® Report Highlights the Evolving Faces of U.S. Luxury

Rhea-AI Summary

Realtor.com (NWS) January Luxury Housing Report finds U.S. entry-level luxury prices essentially stable at $1.19M while luxury definitions diverge regionally.

Legacy coastal markets feature older, smaller luxury homes (median year built 1974 in San Francisco) versus Sun Belt and Mountain West metros where luxury is new, larger, and driven by construction.

Positive

• National entry-level luxury threshold held at $1,193,085, showing price stability
• San Jose luxury homes sold in a median of 19 days in January, down 65.5% YoY
• Dallas and Houston offer 4,027 and 4,100 median square feet respectively for $1M–$2M luxury listings

Negative

• Legacy coastal luxury homes are notably smaller (San Francisco median 1,863 sq ft vs U.S. luxury average 2,931 sq ft)
• Ultra-luxury 99th-percentile threshold fell 4.3% YoY to $5,635,028
• Some newer luxury metros show slower turnover; Bend median days on market rose to 172 days, up 28.6% YoY

Key Figures

Entry-level luxury threshold: $1,193,085 High-end luxury threshold: $1,912,790 Ultraluxury threshold: $5,635,028 +5 more

8 metrics

Entry-level luxury threshold $1,193,085 National 90th percentile, January 2026

High-end luxury threshold $1,912,790 National 95th percentile, January 2026

Ultraluxury threshold $5,635,028 National 99th percentile, January 2026

Million-dollar listing share 12.0% National share of listings at or above $1M, January 2026

National luxury median size 2,931 sq. ft. Typical size for $1M–$2M luxury homes, USA

Heber luxury threshold $7,605,000 10% most expensive listings start at this price, Heber, Utah

San Jose median luxury DOM 19 days Median days on market for top 10% listings, January 2026

USA luxury median DOM 92 days Median days on market for national top 10% listings

Market Reality Check

Price: $27.20 Vol: Volume 1,484,477 is at 0....

normal vol

$27.20 Last Close

Volume Volume 1,484,477 is at 0.93x the 20-day average of 1,600,829. normal

Technical Price 27.20 is trading below the 200-day MA of 31.66, despite today’s gain of 3.54%.

Peers on Argus

NWS gained 3.54% alongside positive moves in peers NWSA (+3.1%), WMG (+3.67%), R...

NWS gained 3.54% alongside positive moves in peers NWSA (+3.1%), WMG (+3.67%), ROKU (+1.39%) and TKO (+1.09%), while FOXA slipped (-0.19%). Scanner data, however, does not flag a coordinated sector momentum move.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Feb 05 (Neutral)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Feb 05	Investor briefing	Neutral	-2.5%	Announcement of Dow Jones investor briefing outlining strategy and financial profile.
Feb 05	Earnings results	Neutral	-2.5%	Q2 2026 results with higher revenue and EBITDA but lower net income and EPS.
Feb 05	Housing report	Neutral	-2.5%	Realtor.com® update on January inventory, prices and national supply tightness.
Feb 04	Rental market report	Neutral	-2.6%	NYC rent and vacancy statistics showing tight rental conditions and low mobility.
Jan 27	Housing market study	Neutral	-0.6%	Study on HOA prevalence, fee levels and regional burden across U.S. markets.

Pattern Detected

Recent macro and company news, including housing reports and earnings, has often coincided with short-term price declines despite largely informational or mixed-tone content.

Recent Company History

Over the past few weeks, NWS has released several data-driven updates via Realtor.com® and broader corporate disclosures. On Jan 27, a report on HOA fee prevalence was followed by a modest decline. Late January and early February saw multiple housing and rental market studies plus an NYC rent report, and on Feb 5 the company reported Q2 fiscal 2026 results with higher revenues and EBITDA but lower net income. An investor briefing announcement on the same date also preceded a negative reaction, suggesting recent newsflow has been met with cautious trading.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights detailed Realtor.com® data on U.S. luxury housing, including a national...

Analysis

This announcement highlights detailed Realtor.com® data on U.S. luxury housing, including a national entry-level luxury threshold near $1,193,085 and clear contrasts between legacy coastal and newer Sun Belt and Mountain West markets. For NWS, such reports reinforce its data and analytics positioning rather than signaling immediate financial changes. Investors may track how recurring housing studies, alongside recent earnings and ongoing buyback disclosures, shape the longer-term narrative, especially while the share price trades below the 200-day moving average.

Key Terms

90th percentile, 95th percentile, 99th percentile, median, +1 more

5 terms

90th percentile technical

"Luxury segmentation is based on market-specific price percentiles, with the 90th percentile representing"

The 90th percentile is the value in a set of measurements that is greater than 90% of the observations and lower than the top 10%. For investors it highlights the high end of a distribution — for example, unusually high returns, costs, or prices — helping identify outliers, set conservative targets, or assess upside and tail risk much like looking at the 90th person in a 100-person line to see who’s near the top.

95th percentile technical

"percentiles, with the 90th percentile representing entry-level luxury, the 95th percentile marking high-end"

The 95th percentile is the value in a range of numbers such that 95% of the observations are equal to or below it and 5% are above it. Think of lining up 100 people by height and picking the person at position 95 — everyone shorter is at or below the 95th percentile. For investors, it highlights where most outcomes cluster and flags the relatively rare, extreme results useful for risk limits, stress testing, performance benchmarks and spotting outliers.

99th percentile technical

"the 95th percentile marking high-end luxury, and the 99th percentile indicating ultraluxury."

The 99th percentile is the value that separates the top 1% from the rest in a ranked set of data — think of being in the top 1% of a class or finishing a race among the first few. For investors, it highlights extreme outcomes (very high returns, risks, costs, or measurements) and helps spot outliers or tail events that can greatly affect portfolio performance or valuation assumptions.

median technical

"San Francisco-Oakland tops the list with a median luxury build year of 1974, followed closely"

The median is the middle value in a ranked list of numbers so that half the values are higher and half are lower; if there’s an even number of items, it’s the average of the two middle values. For investors it provides a more reliable sense of a “typical” outcome than an average because a single very large or very small number won’t skew it, making it useful for judging typical prices, returns, or costs.

Office of Management and Budget regulatory

"Metropolitan and micropolitan areas are defined using the Office of Management and Budget's OMB-2023 delineations"

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is a government agency responsible for coordinating the planning and administration of federal budgets and policies. It acts like a financial manager for the government, deciding how public funds are allocated and ensuring government activities run smoothly. For investors, its decisions can influence economic stability and government spending, which can impact markets and overall economic health.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

National luxury prices stabilize as buyers weigh the prestige of historic coastal enclaves against the modern scale of emerging Mountain and Sun Belt markets

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. luxury housing market opened 2026 with a stabilizing trend in pricing, defined by a fundamental difference in what luxury means from one region to the next. While national entry-level luxury prices held steady at $1.19 million, Realtor.com^® January Luxury Housing Report highlights how the definition of luxury is shifting between established legacy markets and new growth hubs.

According to the report, the national 90th-percentile luxury threshold remained essentially unchanged from a year ago (-0.6%). However, the report reveals a clear distinction in what buyers receive for their investment. In legacy markets like San Francisco and San Jose, the typical luxury home dates back to the mid-1970s. Meanwhile, in emerging markets like Heber, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, the luxury segment is driven almost entirely by brand-new construction.

"The age of luxury inventory in a given city tells a story of that market's lifecycle," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com^®. "In legacy coastal metros, we're seeing the results of maturity, where the most desirable luxury neighborhoods reached full build-out decades ago, leaving little room for new construction. Conversely, in the Mountain West and Sun Belt, we're seeing active expansion, where the luxury tier is being defined by a new wave of development designed to meet modern preferences for scale and customization."

January data suggests the broader luxury segment is entering a seasonal baseline, with the entry-level tier showing the most stability.

National Luxury Overview

Pricing	January 2026	Monthly Change	YoY Change
Luxury Threshold 90th Percentile	$1,193,085	0.0 %	-0.6 %
High-End Luxury Threshold 95th Percentile	$1,912,790	0.5 %	-3.0 %
Ultra Luxury Threshold 99th Percentile	$5,635,028	1.87 %	-4.3 %
Million-Dollar Listing Share	12.0 %	0.0pp	-0.3pp

Legacy Luxury: Paying for Postcodes, Not Square Footage 

In the nation's oldest luxury markets, location and pedigree remain the primary drivers of value. These markets represent long-established high-end locations where luxury is defined by mature neighborhoods and architecture that has retained value through decades of scarcity.

San Francisco-Oakland tops the list with a median luxury build year of 1974, followed closely by San Jose (1977). In these established metros, homes in the $1 million to $2 million range are often more compact, averaging between 1,600 and 2,000 square feet, which is well below the national luxury average of 2,931 square feet. Despite the older housing stock, these markets move with speed; in San Jose, luxury homes sold in a median of just 19 days this January.

"In these legacy markets, buyers are often paying for the postcode and proximity to global economic hubs rather than brand-new finishes," said Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com^®. "Value is driven by the fact that there is simply a scarcity of land to develop. These properties represent a finite resource, allowing them to remain competitive and well-supported even in seasonal lulls."

Markets with the Oldest Luxury Homes

Rank	Area	10% Most  Expensive Listings Start at:	Median Year Built for Top 10%	Median Days on Market for Top 10%	Median Days on Market for  Top 10% YoY	Median Square Feet $1M – $2M
0	USA	$1,193,085	2003	92	1.7 %	2,931
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.	$2,499,000	1974	78	-13.1 %	1,863
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	$3,150,000	1977	19	-65.5 %	1,684
3	New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.	$2,999,314	1990	114	-5.0 %	1,929
4	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$2,327,500	1992	96	8.5 %	1,430
5	Key West-Key Largo, Fla.	$5,295,000	1994	81	-18.4 %	1,611
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	$4,120,978	1996	88	7.3 %	1,981
7	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.	$2,997,000	1997	92	12.9 %	2,379
8	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.	$874,988	1997	86	-13.1 %	3,760
9	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, Calif.	$2,949,920	1999	78	8.7 %	2,078
10 Tie	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.	$1,439,143	2000	72	-6.5 %	3,307
10 Tie	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.	$1,298,847	2000	77	6.9 %	2,924
11 Tie	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	$2,566,359	2001	97	-1.0 %	3,750
11 Tie	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.	$871,745	2001	78	-4.3 %	2,500

(Among metropolitan and micropolitan areas that averaged at least 500 million-dollar listings over the 12 months through January 2026)

New Growth Luxury: The Appeal of Scale and Modernity

Conversely, a different luxury landscape is emerging in the Sun Belt and Mountain West. In these metros, the high-end tier has been created more recently, evolving alongside rapid population growth. Luxury here is expressed through horizontal scale and modern layouts rather than historic charm.

Heber, Utah, leads the newest luxury markets with a median build year of 2024, followed by Boise City, Idaho (2021) and Raleigh, N.C. (2019). In these markets, the luxury dollar stretches significantly further in terms of living space. Metros like Minneapolis, Dallas, Houston, and Charlotte all offer luxury homes in the $1 million to $2 million range that average well above 3,500 square feet, even exceeding 4,000 square feet.

"These emerging markets reflect a shift in buyer preferences toward 'newness' and lifestyle amenities," Smith added. "While legacy markets offer history, these new growth areas offer a blank canvas with modern floor plans and expansive estates. It's a market where luxury is defined by the volume of the home and the recency of the build, attracting a buyer base that prioritizes contemporary design over traditional neighborhood prestige."

Markets with the Newest Luxury Homes

Rank	Area	10% Most Expensive Listings Start at:	Median Year Built for Top 10%	Median Days on Market for Top 10%	Median Days on Market for Top 10% YoY	Median Square Feet $1M – $2M
0	USA	$1,193,085	2003	92	1.7 %	2,931
1	Heber, Utah	$7,605,000	2024	85	-11.0 %	2,671
2	Boise City, Idaho	$1,375,000	2021	78	-11.9 %	3,270
3	Raleigh-Cary, N.C.	$1,029,747	2019	92	-14.0 %	3,881
4	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tenn.	$1,545,408	2019	102	9.1 %	3,646
5	Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla.	$2,738,400	2018	126	3.1 %	2,469
6	Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J.	$2,343,400	2015	102	-2.4 %	1,990
7	Naples-Marco Island, Fla.	$3,605,114	2014	79	10.5 %	2,265
8	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	$893,137	2013	96	0.0 %	3,571
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.	$994,071	2012	101	1.3 %	4,193
9 Tie	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$749,566	2012	113	12.4 %	3,654
10 Tie	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$929,272	2010	81	-1.8 %	4,027
10 Tie	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas	$776,561	2010	74	3.5 %	4,100
11 Tie	Wilmington, N.C.	$1,177,000	2008	93	-4.4 %	2,866
11 Tie	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$1,250,000	2008	102	5.7 %	3,217
11 Tie	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.	$897,204	2008	99	15.8 %	3,897
11 Tie	Bend, Ore.	$1,844,200	2008	172	28.6 %	2,821

(Among metropolitan and micropolitan areas that averaged at least 500 million-dollar listings over the 12 months through January 2026)

Methodology

All data in this report is sourced from Realtor.com^® listing trends as of January 2026, reflecting active inventory of existing homes, including single-family residences, condos, townhomes, row homes, and co-ops. Listings reflect only those posted on MLS platforms that provide listing feeds to Realtor.com^®. New-construction listings are excluded unless actively listed on participating MLSs.

Luxury segmentation is based on market-specific price percentiles, with the 90th percentile representing entry-level luxury, the 95th percentile marking high-end luxury, and the 99th percentile indicating ultraluxury. All calculations are based on listing prices, not final sales prices.

Metropolitan and micropolitan areas are defined using the Office of Management and Budget's OMB-2023 delineations, with Claritas 2025 household estimates used for relative comparisons. Where appropriate, we limited analysis to metros or micros with a minimum threshold of active million-dollar listings on average over the past year to ensure meaningful comparisons.

Historical listing trend data extends to July 2016, but year-over-year comparisons in this report use January 2025 as the baseline.

Luxury by the Numbers

90th percentile = Entry-level luxury (top 10% of prices)

95th percentile = High-end luxury

99th percentile = Ultraluxury (often rare or custom properties)

About Realtor.com^®

Realtor.com^® pioneered online real estate and has been at the forefront for over 25 years, connecting buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 site trusted by real estate professionals, Realtor.com^® is a valued partner, delivering consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.

Media contact: Emily Do, press@realtor.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americas-oldest-vs-newest-luxury-markets-realtorcom-report-highlights-the-evolving-faces-of-us-luxury-302683940.html

SOURCE Realtor.com

FAQ

What is the national entry-level luxury threshold in the Realtor.com January 2026 report for NWS?

The entry-level luxury threshold is $1,193,085. According to Realtor.com, this reflects the 90th-percentile listing price and was essentially unchanged year-over-year, indicating near-term price stability in the luxury entry tier.

How does luxury housing differ between legacy coastal markets and new growth metros in the NWS report?

Legacy markets show older, smaller luxury stock while new growth metros feature recent, larger homes. According to Realtor.com, coastal luxury often dates to the 1970s, versus 2010s–2020s builds in Mountain West and Sun Belt markets.

What does the San Jose market detail mean for NWS-era luxury demand?

San Jose luxury homes sold in a median of 19 days in January, indicating rapid turnover. According to Realtor.com, that median days-on-market fell 65.5% YoY, signaling especially strong demand in that legacy market.

Which metros offer the most living space for $1M–$2M luxury listings in the report referenced by NWS?

Dallas and Houston top the list with about 4,027 and 4,100 median square feet respectively. According to Realtor.com, newer Sun Belt and Texas markets provide greater horizontal scale at that price band.

Did high-end and ultra-luxury thresholds move in January 2026 per the Realtor.com report (NWS)?

Yes, the 95th-percentile fell modestly and the 99th-percentile declined 4.3% YoY. According to Realtor.com, high-end and ultraluxury listing thresholds eased compared with January 2025.