What constitutes luxury depends a lot on the person. Some people can live on less while others prefer opulence. When it comes to houses, though, you can put a number to it based on the homes available for sale. That’s what the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website did. It defined luxury as the top 10 percent of listings by price and found that, nationally, an entry-level luxury home starts at $1,199,977. In 2016, the luxury market started at just under $800,000. But while that’s a significant increase, the threshold has started to come down. In fact, the luxury threshold was 2.3 percent higher last year at this time. Anthony Smith, the website’s senior economist, says conditions will vary by location. “Luxury home dynamics are increasingly driven by local factors rather than national trends,” Smith said. “Some high-cost metros are experiencing brisk demand and fast turnover, while others face slower sales even at elevated price points.” (source)
