Luxury home prices have slipped in some California markets, while rising in mid-size markets in Florida and across the south, according to a U.S. luxury housing report released Wednesday by realtor.com.



In California, median prices for high-end homes were down in August in Marin County, Los Angeles and Santa Clara, compared to the same time period last year. Meanwhile, the median entry-level price across the U.S. rose 2.2% to $1.2 million, the report found. The report defined luxury as the top 5% of all residential home sales over the last year.



The report analyzed 95 luxury counties, looking at yearly movement in the entry-level luxury price boundary.



For example, the median price for a luxury home in L.A. dipped 0.5% to $2.1 million, the first decline in the county since 2016, the report said. And sales of homes for $1 million or more were down 4.5% compared to 2018.



At the same time, the median price for a high-end home in Santa Clara was $2.8 million in August, a year-over-year drop of 2.8%. This was the largest fall in price there since realtor.com started tracking luxury markets in 2010. Million-dollar sales in Santa Clara were also down 23.2%.



And in Marin County, the median luxury price fell 6.5% to $3.1 million, compared to the previous year, the report found.



Part of the reason for the decline in prices in California is because of the volatility of other financial markets, according to George Ratiu, senior economist with realtor.com.



“There’s heightened concern for the overall financial outlook of markets,” he said. “Buyers have taken their foot off the accelerator.”



In addition, more buyers are choosing less expensive, mid-sized markets over counties like L.A. and other pricey areas.



“There’s a flight to affordability, even in the luxury market,” Mr. Ratiu explained. “Many buyers want to go places where $1 million goes further.”



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To that end, areas in Florida, Texas and Tennessee are seeing higher prices, he added. For instance, median luxury prices across Florida were up 2.8% to $1.03 million this month, the report found.



Indeed, Travis County in Texas, where Austin is located, was the fastest-growing luxury market based on year-over-year growth of million dollar sales. Median prices there grew 4.2% to $2.6 million.



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Mr. Ratiu said Florida is seeing more Baby Boomers buying luxury, attracted by not only the weather, but the lower cost of living.



“That’s not just the cost of housing or food,” he said. “But also the state’s favorable tax treatment and lack of state income tax.”



Mansion Global is owned by Dow Jones. Both Dow Jones and realtor.com are owned by News Corp.

