Mid-Atlantic Luxury Housing Report
Luxury Real Estate Market in Transition in the Third Quarter
Buyers and sellers are watching political, economic conditions
Luxury real estate is still performing well through the third quarter of 2024. Interest rates and overall economic conditions are on the minds of many luxury buyers and sellers. Others have been closely watching the Presidential campaign; the luxury housing market often softens leading up to a Presidential election. This year, although there has been more uncertainty than usual in the lead-up to the election, the luxury market is still strong throughout most of the Mid-Atlantic.
Political or economic uncertainty is the primary risk to the luxury real estate market. Assuming mortgage rates continue to come down and the economy stays stable, the luxury market will remain resilient through the end of 2024 and into 2025.
Third quarter luxury sales were stronger than last year as interest rates come down. Across the Bright MLS service area, there was a total of 2,921 luxury home sales in the third quarter of 2024. While luxury sales were down 3.4% from the second quarter, activity was up by 2.8% compared to the third quarter of last year. By comparison, overall home sales in the MidAtlantic were up 3.8% year-over-year in the third quarter.
Compared to last year, mortgage rates were about a half percentage point lower, which can explain some of the boost in sales. Luxury sales may be less tied to changes in mortgage rates, a possible explanation for the slightly slower growth in sales activity.
Luxury Market Benchmark
For this report, the luxury benchmark price varies across different markets. Luxury homes are those with prices in the top 5% of the local market. The ultra -luxury market includes homes in the top 1% of the market, and those benchmarks also vary across different markets.
What is the luxury home benchmark? Q3 2024
Philadelphia Metro $1.005 million
Baltimore Metro $960,000
Washington Metro $1.670 million
Del/Mar Coastal $1.174 million
Maryland Eastern Shore $1.031 million
Southern Maryland
North Central Virginia
Central Pennsylvania
Maryland-West Virginia Panhandle
$795,800
$910,000
$625,000
$650,000
Note: The luxury home benchmark is the 95th percentile price of homes sold in the submarket during Q3 2024.
Luxury Sales
There are no signs that the election has affected the luxury market… at least through September.
Although the luxury real estate market often softens in the lead-up to a Presidential election, there was little indication of a pullback through the third quarter. However, there could be more uncertainty in the fourth quarter.
Through the end of July, polls showed former President Donald Trump out ahead of sitting President Joe Biden. The prospects of a Trump presidency could have engendered confidence among higher-income Americans, including prospective homebuyers and sellers.
However, uncertainty grew once Biden stepped aside and Vice President Kamala Harris entered a neck -and-neck race against Trump. In the weeks leading up to the election, this uncertainty prompted some higher-income individuals and families including would-be luxury homebuyers to take a "wait and see" approach.
photo courtesy of Bonnie Wells/Real Estate Cinema
Luxury buyers can take a little more time.
While the luxury real estate market is still relatively fastpaced, buyers have a little more breathing room. In the Bright MLS service area, the median days on market for luxury homes sold in the third quarter was 14, meaning that half of all properties sold were on the market for two weeks or less. The median days on market was up by six days compared to the second quarter of 2024 and increased by three days compared to last year.
Luxury properties traditionally take longer to sell than less-expensive homes. In the spring and early summer, luxury homes in the Mid-Atlantic had been selling just as quickly as other homes, but in the third quarter, luxury homes stayed on the market longer. The median days on market in the third quarter for all homes sold was 11.
Across the Mid-Atlantic, luxury buyers take the most time in the Washington, D.C., metro area, where the median days on market was 20 days in the third quarter, compared to nine days in the Baltimore region and 11 days in the Philadelphia metro area.
Mid-Atlantic Luxury Market Trends
Photo courtesy of Daniel Isayeff | @danielisayeff | www.DanielIsayeff.com
photo courtesy of HomeTrack
photo courtesy of Dana Landry
Cash is still king in the luxury market. Even though mortgage rates were coming down, the average rate on a jumbo loan was still around 7% for much of the third quarter. Buyers who were able to avoid taking out a loan and who could come with cash were in a good position relative to other buyers.
In the third quarter, nearly one-third (32.1%) of luxury home sales in the Mid -Atlantic were cash sales. The allcash share ticked down slightly from the second quarter, but the share of luxury homes purchased with cash is still significantly higher than in the overall market (21.5%). Higher-income buyers have more options for bringing cash to the table and those who could took advantage of that liquidity to purchase a home.
The share of cash luxury shares increased substantially in the Del/Mar Coastal market, where 63.0% of thirdquarter luxury transactions were all cash. In the region’s major metro areas, the Philadelphia metro area had the highest share of all-cash luxury sales in the third quarter (38.6%), followed by Washington, D.C. (32.9%) and Baltimore (20.1%).
As mortgage rates fall further in the fourth quarter and into 2025, it is likely that the all-cash share will fall. However, luxury buyers who are selling one home and buying another have record levels of housing equity that they can roll into their home purchase, which makes an all-cash purchase or at least a very large down payment still attractive.
Despite active buyers in the luxury market, sellers remain relatively scarce.
In the third quarter, there was a total of 3,859 new luxury listings across the Mid -Atlantic, which is down 28.9% from the second quarter and is also 7.6% below the level of new listings during the third quarter of 2023.
While there was not a notable election impact on buyers through the end of Q3, prospective luxury buyers who were holding off until after the election will likely soon come back into play.
In the non -luxury market, homeowners do not seem to be as reticent, driven more by falling mortgage rates. In the overall Mid -Atlantic market, the number of new listings in the third quarter was up by 4.9% compared to a year ago, and overall new listing activity was down much more modestly between the second and third quarters of 2024.
photo courtesy of Dana Landry
photo courtesy Studio Trejo
Prices are softening seasonally, but there is no risk of a major price correction. Home prices are still higher than they were a year ago as buyers continue to compete over relatively low inventory. In the third quarter of 2024, slightly more than one-third of luxury home sellers (33.4%) received above asking price. While this share is down from 41.7% in the second quarter, it still represents continued upward pressure on luxury home prices.
Furthermore, this trend is part of a seasonal pattern. In the overall Mid -Atlantic housing market, the share of homes that sold above list price also declined between the second and third quarters of 2024.
Despite more favorable interest rates, a smaller share of homes sold above asking price this year compared to a year ago. In the third quarter of 2023, 38.1% of all luxury sales and 47.7% of all sales closed above the original asking price.
While luxury demand remains strong in the MidAtlantic, at some price points, buyers are up against affordability ceilings and inventory is starting to expand. As a result, more buyers are not willing and may not be able to push prices up beyond asking. While sellers still have the upper hand in most luxury transactions, buyers will start to have more leverage in the fourth quarter of 2024 and heading into 2025.
With fewer luxury properties on the market, inventory remains tight. At the end of the third quarter, there were 3,842 luxury listings available for sale across the Bright MLS service area. Inventory fell by 6.7% compared to a year ago, and the number of properties available for sale was down 9.7% compared to the second quarter. By contrast, in the overall housing market, inventory was up by 16.8% compared to a year ago, and rose by 8.8% over last quarter.
Buyers still need to act quickly when they find the property they love. Inventory should increase in the fourth quarter and into 2025, though buyers will still face competition in most markets throughout the MidAtlantic.
photo courtesy Studio Trejo
photo courtesy of Ziman Development
photo courtesy of Dana Landry
The most luxury sales in the third quarter were in Princeton, New Jersey; and McLean, Virginia. Based on the luxury thresholds defined above, zip code 22101 in McLean and zip code 08540 in Princeton had the most luxury sales (59) in the third quarter, with high -end sales accounting for about two-thirds of all transactions in the community.
The luxury market in the Philadelphia area was particularly busy in the third quarter, with three communities in the Philadelphia suburbs making the top 10 luxury markets zip code 19087 in Wayne, Pennsylvania; 19073 in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania; and 18938 in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
Top 10 Luxury Markets
Ultra-Luxury Markets
Ultra-Luxury Market
Ultra -luxury home sales are those with sold prices in the top 1% of the market. McLean, Virginia (zip code 22101); and Princeton, New Jersey (zip code 08540) held the top two ultra -luxury market spots.
There were other notable ultra -luxury markets that stood out, including zip code 20007 in Washington, D.C., where there were 14 ultra -luxury sales, including the most expensive sale in the third quarter.
photo courtesy Daniel Heider TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Mid-Atlantic Luxury Market
Top 5 Luxury Sales in Q3 2024
$9.65M 3032 N St NW, Washington, D.C.
TTR Sotheby's International Realty
$9.14M 1908 24th St NW, Washington, D.C.
TTR Sotheby's International Realty
$8.63M 4526 Hawthorne St NW, Washington, D.C. Washington Fine Properties, LLC
$8.55M 6727 Lucy Ln, McLean, VA
TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
$8.54M 7008 Benjamin St, McLean, VA
Yeonas & Shafran Real Estate, LLC
A historic Georgetown property was the most expensive listing sold in the third quarter of 2024. The eight -bedroom property built circa -1891 sold for $9.65 million in early July.
photo courtesy of Michele Sheiko
photo courtesy of Dana Landry
Photo courtesy of Daniel Isayeff @danielisayeff | www.DanielIsayeff.com
Photo courtesy of Daniel Isayeff @danielisayeff | www.DanielIsayeff.com
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Photo courtesy of Daniel Isayeff @danielisayeff | www.DanielIsayeff.com