Zillow Says $1.9 Million Luxury Homes Outpace $202,000 Starters in Split U.S. Market
Updated
Updated · Fox Business · Aug 3
Zillow Says $1.9 Million Luxury Homes Outpace $202,000 Starters in Split U.S. Market
2 articles · Updated · Fox Business · Aug 3
Summary
Luxury homes worth about $1.9 million gained demand as starter-home sales softened, with Zillow describing a two-track U.S. market split by buyer finances.
Inventory explains much of the gap: starter-home listings rose 4.5% from a year earlier in June and 25% cut prices, while luxury inventory fell 5.2% and 20.6% of listings reduced prices.
Inflation, weak consumer sentiment and a slowing job market are pressuring first-time buyers, while stock-market gains have lifted higher-income households' purchasing power for upscale homes.
San Francisco showed the sharpest divide in May, with luxury sales up 21.6% year over year as starter-home sales fell 1.2%; 22.2% of starter listings cut prices versus 9.4% of luxury listings.
Zillow said the imbalance is giving starter-home shoppers more negotiating power, even as the same economic pressures still make down payments harder to afford.