Ultraluxury Home Sales Hit Record Wave of $100M Deals

America's broader housing market may be stuck in low gear, but at the very top, prices are punching through the stratosphere. In 2025, every one of the 10 biggest US home sales cleared $100 million, per data from appraiser Jonathan Miller and the Wall Street Journal—up from seven such deals in 2024, five in 2023, and even surpassing 2021's pandemic-era peak. One sale crossed $200 million, and there were roughly 40 transactions nationwide at $50 million or more, continuing a post-COVID trend Miller links to widening wealth inequality. "The separation between the haves and have-nots is expanding, and it is being reflected in real estate," he says.

Buyers at this level are treating homes as financial instruments as much as residences. Brokers say affluent buyers are parking money in "hard assets," viewing ultraluxury property as a hedge against inflation and volatility in stocks. Domestic buyers are driving most of the action, especially in tax-friendly enclaves. Buying adjacent luxury properties is another trend. "It's all about control," says real estate broker Ryan Serhant. "Why let someone move in next door if you can move in next door yourself?"

Florida dominated with 19 sales above $50 million and six of the year's 10 biggest deals, including a $225 million waterfront estate in Naples and a flurry of nine-figure trades in Miami and Palm Beach. Microsoft billionaire Charles Simonyi assembled roughly $250 million worth of Palm Beach waterfront, while other deep-pocketed buyers stitched together multiparcel compounds in Naples and Coconut Grove. Analysts say, however, that there is oversupply in the luxury market in Florida and that it is likely to be a buyers' market in 2026, the Miami Herald reports.

New York and California played supporting roles. Manhattan notched strong contract activity at $4 million and up but saw no $100 million-plus closings; the state's lone nine-figure deal was a Hamptons sale at $115 million, the Journal reports. In California, a mansion tax, wildfire fallout, and talk of a wealth tax weighed on the market, though buyers like James Packer and Eric Schmidt still snapped up marquee Los Angeles estates.