A fundamental shift is underway in how ultra-high-net-worth buyers approach real estate while the entry-level market shows just how far the affordability crisis has spread, creating a housing landscape that looks radically different depending on where a client sits on the wealth spectrum.
Sotheby's International Realty published its 2026 Mid-Year Luxury Outlook report on Monday, drawing on survey data from agents working exclusively in the $10 million-and-above segment globally.
The headline finding is that longevity has become a primary organizing principle for purchase decisions at the top end, with health-centered design and wellness infrastructure now cited as growing factors by nearly 38% of professionals in that price category.
The question wealthy buyers are increasingly asking is not just where they want to live, but how a property supports the way they intend to age.
"The global luxury real estate market continues to endure, even as the forces shaping it evolve. Longevity is increasingly driving that interest too,” said Philip White, president and CEO of Sotheby's International Realty. “It's no longer just where folks want to live, but how they want to live as they age. What we are seeing in the industry is not a short-term change, but a sustained shift in how global wealth is stored, transferred, and expressed through property. It underscores a simple reality: while motivations are changing, prime real estate can be one of the most trusted ways people preserve and express wealth."
The wealth context underpinning that demand is significant. Federal Reserve data shows the net worth of the top 1% of Americans reached $54 trillion by the third quarter of 2025, while the S&P 500 rose approximately 80% between early 2023 and 2025.
Nearly 40% of the world's millionaires now reside in the US, with researchers projecting five million additional millionaires globally by 2029. More than half of agents surveyed in the $10 million-and-above tier reported an increase in luxury homebuyers over the past year, with average price appreciation of 5%.
According to UBS Global Wealth Management data cited in the report, the global longevity market is projected to expand from $5.3 trillion in 2023 to $8 trillion by 2030.
Wellness real estate, which has more than doubled in size over five years, is projected to surpass $1.1 trillion by 2029. Lifestyle ranked as the most important purchase driver among surveyed agents at 62%, outranking taxes at 60%, economic stability at 53%, and political stability at 49%.
Millennial buyers are also reshaping the top end. Some 66% of agents reported an increase in that cohort at the luxury level, rising to 73% among those in the $5 million-and-above segment, driven by earned wealth and accelerating intergenerational transfers.
While wealthy buyers weigh wellness amenities and longevity infrastructure, a Zillow report also published Monday illustrates how dramatically the broader market has been repriced since the pandemic.
A record 242 US cities now have starter homes valued at $1 million or more, nearly triple the 80 cities that met that threshold in February 2020. This would require a significant income that would be a barrier for those in the early years of their career who might once have been able to buy a home.
Nationally, the typical starter home is valued at $198,649, up 1.7% from a year ago, but that figure masks the scale of the problem in high-cost markets.
California accounts for 105 of the 242 cities. New York and New Jersey added 15 cities between them in the past year alone, with New York's total reaching 41 and New Jersey's climbing to 26 from just one before the pandemic. The New York City metro leads all metros with 63 cities where entry-level pricing crosses the million-dollar threshold.
"Million-dollar starter homes are popping up in more Northeast cities because the housing shortage there hasn't been solved,” said Zillow senior economist Kara Ng. “Sun Belt markets have responded with new supply and seen price growth moderate as a result. The Northeast hasn't had that relief. Eliminating barriers to building like restrictive zoning is the most direct path to improvement."
There are modest signs of improvement for buyers. The typical purchaser now reaches break-even relative to renting after roughly six years, down from more than eight years in late 2023. But the pandemic price reset has proven durable, and 26 states now have at least one city with million-dollar starter homes, up from nine before 2020.
For advisors working with clients across the wealth spectrum, the two reports together show a market operating on entirely separate tracks.
At the top, record wealth accumulation and evolving priorities around longevity are driving demand that shows little sign of softening. At the entry level, the legacy of the pandemic continues to push the cost of homeownership beyond reach in a growing number of communities.
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