Housing market conditions can vary depending on a lot of factors. Location is an obvious one. What’s true in one market isn’t necessarily going to be true in others. It isn’t the only factor, though. Markets can also vary depending on price range. For example, over the past several years, the market for luxury homes has behaved differently than the market for typical homes. In fact, according to one recent analysis, luxury home values – defined as the most valuable 5 percent of homes in any given area – have trailed typical home values in annual appreciation. That is, until this year. Since January, luxury homes have been outpacing typical homes, with the typical home price up 3.2 percent year-over-year and luxury homes seeing a 3.9 percent gain. The reason? Well, luxury home inventory has been slower to recover than inventory in the rest of the market. Currently, total inventory is up 22.7 percent over last year, while the number of available luxury homes has increased 15.7 percent. (source)
