Wall Street Journal article<\/a> recently dove further into the concept, noting some recent high-profile landmaxxers include Ken Griffin, Citadel hedge fund founder, who created a 27-acre compound in Palm Beach, Florida for $450 million, and Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, who spent more than $230 million for properties on Miami\u2019s Indian Creek Island.<\/p>\n\u201cA luxury home can be built almost anywhere, but land is finite,\u201d said Mary Lee Blaylock, president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates. \u201cFeatures like waterfront acreage, historic estates, or expansive ranches are in high demand, but they require space to maintain and build. Affluent buyers are purchasing properties with that in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. has become a magnet for luxury real estate inquiries \u00a0<\/p>\n
The report also revealed that prospective buyer interest in luxury real estate in the U.S. has doubled in the first five months of 2026. California had the greatest share of international buyer inquiries among U.S. states, followed by New York and Florida. New York, however, had the greatest growth in international buyer inquiries, Coldwell Banker said.<\/p>\n
Drawing on luxury home sales data, insights from global wealth and real estate research firms, and a survey of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property Specialists, the report shows that affluent buyers are expanding their real estate portfolios, making more all-cash purchases, and seeking larger, one-of-a-kind properties that offer privacy, land and long-term value.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s luxury home shopper is discerning, focused on both their emotional wants and their long-term wealth building,\u201d said Blaylock. \u201cBoth domestic and international buyers are eyeing U.S. properties as they focus on the geographic diversification of their real estate holdings. These buyers are focused on purchasing unique properties that help them build a legacy through their expansive footprints and locations that carry long-term value.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luxury buyers are moving their financial assets into real estate<\/p>\n
The report also shows that the affluent are pouring more money into luxury homes. The top 10% of the single-family home sector in 120 U.S. markets shows a $3.7 billion increase in total real estate dollar volume for 2026 YOY. Of that, the data revealed that nearly 60% of the entire luxury market\u2019s growth ($2.2 billion) was driven by the ultra-exclusive top 1% to 5% segment, representing a 7.8% increase YOY.<\/p>\n
The data additionally highlighted:\u00a0<\/p>\n
More than 4 in 5 (82.3%) of Luxury Property Specialists say clients are maintaining or increasing their real estate holdings, up from 69% of specialists who said the same a year ago.
\nMore than three-quarters (78%) of Luxury Property Specialists say they\u2019re confident about the health of the market, up from 59% who said the same last year.
\nNearly half (49%) of Luxury Property Specialists say their clients are more likely to view luxury real estate as a safe-haven asset than they were a year ago. <\/p>\n
A liquidity gap is splitting the luxury market<\/p>\n
While the broader housing market continues to face headwinds, the luxury sector remains resilient but increasingly divided, Coldwell Banker noted. Ultra-high-net-worth buyers, insulated by cash and liquidity, are accelerating their real estate activity, particularly for single-family homes and unique properties, while buyers just below that threshold are pulling back, perhaps waiting for rate or economic clarity before committing.<\/p>\n
More stats supporting the gap:<\/p>\n
Almost two-thirds (63%) of Luxury Property Specialists say there is an increase in all-cash purchases among their luxury clients, up from 51% who said the same thing a year ago.\u00a0
\nMore than a quarter (25.5%) of Luxury Property Specialists identified the wealth divide as an active trend in their markets, up from 20.4% who said the same one year ago.
\nIn May 2026, the top 5% of all luxury transactions accounted for nearly two-thirds (65.6%) of total dollar volume of homes sold in the single-family sector.
\nThe top 1-5% bracket alone captured 42.8% of single-family dollar volume and 42.7% of attached properties, with both segments securing larger market shares than in 2025. This lopsided spending power is evident in the median sold price: the top 5% rose 8%, and the top 1% climbed 6.5%, while the top 10% trailed at 4.7% YOY.<\/p>\n
\u2018Shadow Inventory\u2019 permeates luxury market<\/p>\n
While luxury home inventory levels have declined year over year, a wave of latent supply could be waiting in the wings, Coldwell Banker writes. Most Coldwell Banker Luxury Property Specialists surveyed expect to see an uptick in inventory once rate clarity and great economic security arrives.<\/p>\n
According to the survey:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearly 60% of Luxury Property Specialists expect inventory to increase slightly in the second half of 2026 as seller confidence builds.
\nThe market could be reaching a crucial tipping point, as the number of homeowners with mortgage rates above 6% inches closer to equaling those holding ultra-low rates around 3%, according to data cited in the Mid-Year Report from NAR.<\/p>\n
The full Mid-Year Report is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The trending real estate buying habits of the super rich have ushered a new term into our vernacular:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[143007,53675,143008,249,251,250,143009,143010,25090,143011,1508,803,143012],"class_list":["post-349455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-affluent-buyers","tag-coldwell-banker","tag-coldwell-banker-global-luxury-2026-mid-year-report","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-global-luxury-2026-mid-year-report","tag-global-luxury-report","tag-housing-market-data","tag-landmaxxing","tag-luxury","tag-luxury-real-estate","tag-real-estate-data"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}