Sales of $100 million homes set to double this year

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Sales of $100 million homes are on track to double this year, as surging financial markets and hopes for rate cuts fuel a recovery in the ultra-luxury real estate market, according to new reports.

As of July 15, six homes in the U.S. have sold for more than $100 million, according to data from Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman. If the sales pace continues, it would more than double last year’s total and likely eclipse the record of nine homes sold for over $100 million in 2021.

Granted, the nine-figure club is a tiny group. But sales of homes priced at $50 million, $20 million and even $10 million are all signaling a strong rebound for the ultra-luxury real estate market after its decline in 2023. The comeback marks a stark contrast with the national housing market, which is still feeling the pressure of high mortgage rates and a lack of supply. 

“It’s a substantial uptick it the pace of sales, something we’re not seeing at all in the broader housing market,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, the appraisal and research firm. 

Manhattan saw two blockbuster deals in roughly the past month. A penthouse at Central Park Tower — the tallest residential building in the world — closed for $115 million to an unknown buyer. And the penthouse of the Aman New York sold for a reported $135 million to Russian-born billionaire Vladislav Doronin, who founded the development company that built the building — effectively buying it from his own company.

Palm Beach, Florida’s only private island, Tarpon Island, sold for $150 million in May, and Oakley founder James Jannard just sold his Malibu mansion for $210 million, making it the most expensive home ever sold in California.

Even San Francisco is getting in on the ultra-lux boom. Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire widow of Steve Jobs, just bought the most expensive home ever sold in San Francisco. She paid $70 million for a 17,000-square-foot manse in Pacific Heights, wedged between neighbor Larry Ellison on one side and Apple design guru Jony Ive on the other.

Signs of strength are also showing up further down the luxury ladder. According to Redfin, sales of homes priced at $5 million or more through June topped 4,000, up 13% compared with the same period last year. 

“It was a much stronger and more robust start to the year than anyone expected,” said Mike Golden, co-founder of Chicago-based @properties and of Christie’s International Real Estate.  

According to the 2024 Mid-Year Luxury Outlook from Christie’s, high-end markets around the country are seeing…