Inman News
It has been a challenging year for many real estate brokers contending with a volatile economy, but the luxury market has remained resilient in the face of uncertainty
With half of 2025 now in the books, its clear this is turning into a year of challenges. Global uncertainty spread, the economy rested on shaky ground, and political divisions have deepened — all of which are weighing on the minds of real estate professionals.
But amid all the challenges raining down on the housing market right now, one segment is still chugging along: luxury. In fact, in conversations with Inman, experts who specialize in the higher end of the market said that broader challenges notwithstanding, what they’re seeing right now looks more like resilience than collapse.
Mickey Alam Khan, CEO of full-service marketing agency Luxboro, was among those experts. He told Inman tariff policies have largely driven recent ups and downs in the economy, and will certainly impact the cost of construction materials and appliances, which will trickle down to the new development market. But otherwise, ultra-luxury buyers remain active.
“So that impacts the future development of branded residences and new projects in that area,” Khan said. “That uncertainty is definitely hurting the overall market. When it comes to actual sales of luxury homes across the country, I feel that it’s the same situation as last year — the ultra-luxury market, or over $10 million, is always cash. So I think that market is as strong as ever, and ironically, it will grow stronger simply because of the swings and the volatility in the stock market.
“[Real estate] is becoming a more tangible asset of stored value,” he added.
Luxury real estate consistently outperformed the market at-large in 2024 and the first few months of 2025, adding to luxury agent optimism, Sotheby’s International Realty President and CEO Philip White told Inman, despite any other “noise” in the market right now.
“Luxury real estate agents must maintain unwavering focus on their business fundamentals rather than being swayed by daily market noise,” White said in an email to Inman. “Consistent client communication is paramount — ensuring buyers and sellers have current, accurate market intelligence positions agents as trusted advisors.”
Luxury trends
With interest rates still elevated, luxury buyers are heavily favoring cash transactions. There’s also little appetite for properties that require any kind of work, White said.
“We’re observing a compelling dynamic where limited inventory of premier properties is driving competitive bidding for the most desirable locations,” White said in an email.
“Properties that have undergone strategic repricing to align with market comparables are moving successfully. There’s particularly strong demand for new construction and turnkey properties that require minimal renovation. Additionally, the vast majority of transactions are being completed as all-cash purchases. In fact, nearly 90 percent of our agents surveyed in the 2025 Mid-Year Luxury Outlook agent survey reported that the top transaction method for luxury property was cash.”
A wave of “smart luxury” buyers are also on the rise. According to Coldwell Banker Global Luxury’s 2025 Mid-Year Report, buyers who are seeking out perceived deals and investment opportunities want homes that have sat on the market.
With the value of the dollar weakened, more luxury buyers are being attracted to invest in U.S. real estate, Khan also pointed out, and even more are being compelled by President Trump’s “Gold Card” visa program, which creates a path to citizenship for individuals who invest $5 million in the U.S.
The program has received nearly 70,000 applicants, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the Financial Times, although it still faces legal challenges. Still, if those 70,000 applicants go through, it could mean a $350 billion investment in the country — much of which would likely be made in real estate.
“Where will that money go? It will go into buying either residential real estate or commercial real estate, investing in machinery, investing in talent,” Khan predicted. “But, I personally feel at least one-fifth of it will go into buying a home.”
Biggest deals of the year
There has been no shortage of big-ticket residential transactions so far this year, as investors have proven a continued penchant for luxury real estate.
The year’s priciest sales thus far have largely been concentrated in hot markets in South Florida and communities in and around Los Angeles. But other old-standbys like Manhattan, Honolulu and Aspen have seen their share of high-end deals too.
A three-home estate in Naples, Florida, marks the most expensive public sale of the first half of 2025 so far, with a jaw-dropping total sales price of $225 million. The property spans more than 15 acres and includes 800 feet of beach frontage. Michael McCumber of Gulf Coast International Properties represented the listing.
That sale was the only one thus far to surpass the $200 million mark — but there have also been several sales that have gone above and beyond $100 million, showing that ultra-high-net-worth individuals aren’t slowing down when it comes to buying the most elite luxury properties.
Stay tuned for a full list of the year’s top deals later in July.
Private listing networks
Few luxury brokerages have held back from weighing in on the private listings/office exclusives debate that has gripped the industry this year.
From staunch proponents of a client’s right to privately market their home (i.e. Compass, The Agency) to those who only support office exclusives in the rarest of circumstances (i.e. eXp Realty), brokerage opinions on the matter run the gamut.
It remains to be seen how and when the real estate industry may reach some sort of sustained status quo on this issue, and executives continue to weigh in — and call each other out. Compass, Corcoran Group and Douglas Elliman also all recently announced new platforms for their private listings.
And while any listing could theoretically be a private listing, the trend in practice is much more likely to concentrate at the higher end of the market. That’s because luxury homeowners are more likely to have wealth or notoriety that leads to privacy concerns, and thus an interest in selling without a traditional listing.
As a result, it’s already clear that the rise of private listings is poised to become one of the most consequential trends in the luxury space.