Overview
- Realtor.com’s May 2026 listing data show the typical U.S. luxury market has kept about 59% of its pandemic-era run-up and the national 90th‑percentile threshold sits near $1.28 million after a long stretch of modest annual declines.
- Only two metros — Minneapolis–St. Paul and Boise — have fully topped their pandemic luxury peaks, while five areas including San Francisco and San Jose now sit below their pre‑pandemic baselines.
- San Francisco recorded the largest reversal, with its luxury listing threshold roughly $695,000 under the February 2020 baseline, marking the deepest retreat among tracked markets.
- Realtor.com flags concentrated AI-sector equity liquidity from events like tenders and secondaries as a local counterforce in the Bay Area, lifting average down payments by about 6.6 percentage points, roughly $198,000 on a $3 million entry luxury home.
- The report is based on active MLS listing prices rather than closed sales, and it notes lasting shifts: million‑dollar listings now make up 13.8% of inventory and the absolute count of such listings is about 40% above the pre‑pandemic peak, a pattern that could reshape luxury supply and buyer behavior going forward.