Whereas folks have completely different definitions for luxurious, the phrase sometimes elicits extravagance, grandeur, and exclusivity. And within the housing market, it often prompts visions of an enormous mansion dripping with facilities.
However the definition of at the moment’s luxurious housing is altering, in response to Pamela Liebman, CEO of The Corcoran Group, the true property agency based by Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran in 1973. In truth, many rich patrons are leaning into the development of understated “quiet luxurious” when buying a house.
“On the subject of house shopping for, quiet luxurious doesn’t should be the most important property on the block,” Liebman instructed Mansion International. “It may very well be a spot that makes you so completely happy and it might have all of your favourite bells and whistles, which may very well be one thing like an attractive porch the place you sit and have tea or a cocktail on the finish of the day versus being a serious property that everybody drives previous and desires to know who lives there.”
“Quiet luxurious is luxurious that makes you content,” she continued. “Luxurious in your face is perhaps spitting it out to the remainder of the world.”
In truth, a July report from vacation-home co-ownership platform Pacaso exhibits smaller properties have gotten extra luxurious and are gaining recognition amongst excessive net-worth people. The common new-home measurement dropped from 2,314 sq. toes in This fall 2022 to 2,169 sq. toes in This fall 2024, U.S. Census Bureau information exhibits.
“Prosperous patrons are prioritizing comfort and monetary flexibility, searching for properties that require much less upkeep with out sacrificing these high-end finishes all of us love,” in response to Pacaso. Plus, they’re selecting smaller properties as a result of they’re simpler to buy in money as a substitute of taking out a mortgage whereas charges are nonetheless excessive.
The place ‘quiet luxurious’ patrons are wanting
Quiet luxurious can be about the place you purchase. Whereas the main luxurious housing markets embrace the Hamptons, New York Metropolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Palm Seaside, and Dallas, there are a number of rising markets now on the radar.
On the West Coast, Liebman famous Sonoma County, particularly Healdsburg, Calif., “is an fascinating spot” the place luxurious house gross sales have surged 150% year-over-year and 20% of properties have acquired a number of gives.
In accordance with Zillow, the common house worth there may be almost $1.1 million, a few 17% improve in the course of the previous 5 years. And as of late July, the common itemizing worth was greater than $1.5 million. Sonoma County has turn into a sizzling spot for patrons from city areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles, in response to Daniel Casabonne of Sotheby’s Worldwide Realty, due to its winery views and smaller-town vibe.
Park Metropolis, Utah, has additionally turn into a well-liked vacation spot to purchase a luxurious house, notably for folks searching for a snowboarding vacation spot, Liebman stated—and it’s simpler to get to than Aspen by way of a industrial flight.
“, not everyone has a non-public aircraft,” she stated. Nonetheless, the common house worth in Park Metropolis is a cool $1.5 million, in response to Zillow. Specifically, the Park Metropolis new-construction luxurious rental market has been rising, and median gross sales costs rose 23% in Q2 to $1.85 million, information from Park Metropolis Investor exhibits.
On the East Coast, Lake Burton, Ga.; Asheville, N.C.; elements of South Carolina, and Florida’s panhandle have additionally turn into standard for luxurious homebuyers, Liebman stated. In Lake Burton, many 2024 listings exceeded $5 million, and Mayfair Worldwide Realty just lately completely listed a $10 million non-public island there.
In the meantime, the posh market in Florida’s panhandle is constant to develop and stock ranges are on the rise. Particularly, Inlet Seaside, Santa Rosa Seaside, and Destin all are rising as luxurious markets with new upscale beachfront properties boosting general costs. The common house worth in Inlet Seaside is $1.7 million, in response to Zillow.
“Legacy locations stay as timeless as ever, [but] Florida’s panhandle is solidifying its standing as a favourite for vacationers,” Pacaso CEO and cofounder Austin Allison wrote within the firm’s checklist of the highest 20 luxurious trip house markets of 2024.
A model of this story was printed on Fortune.com on September 9, 2025.
