Home prices have been on the rise throughout the first half of 2023, often leaving would-be buyers desperate to see more inventory in their price range.
To prospective buyers, it might seem like every other house listed on Zillow has a seven-figure price tag. Depending on where you're searching, that may actually be the case.
In Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Boston, over half of the homes for sale are listed at over $1 million according to recent analysis by real estate website Point2.
Point2's report looked at home listings in 30 of the largest U.S. markets among the 100 most populous cities in the U.S., with at least 500,000 people to see which cities have the highest proportions of homes with million-dollar price tags.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, California cities take the top four spots.
10 large U.S. cities with the largest shares of million-dollar home listings
Los Angeles owns the highest share of million-dollar listings with nearly 64% of its homes for sale priced at $1 million or more.
And while more than half of listed homes in the city have a million-dollar asking price, the median price among homes sold in May 2023 was $926,000.
Only two ranked cities boast a median sale price that breaks the million-dollar mark: San Francisco and San Jose, California, whose median homes sold for $1.3 million and $1.2 million respectively.
L.A. has by far the highest share of homes listed at over $5 million, with such "ultra-luxury" properties making up nearly 12% of listings, compared to just 7% of San Francisco and 1% of San Jose listings.
1. Los Angeles
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 64%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 12%
- Median home sale price: $926,000
2. San Francisco
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 62%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 7%
- Median home sale price: $1.3 million
3. San Jose, California
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 61%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 1%
- Median home sale price: $1.2 million
4. San Diego
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 59%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 8%
- Median home sale price: $910,000
5. Boston
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 53%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 9%
- Median home sale price: $799,000
6. New York
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 41%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 7%
- Median home sale price: $740,000
7. Seattle
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 34%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 2%
- Median home sale price: $830,000
8. Denver
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 27%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: <1%
- Median home sale price: $576,000
9. Washington, D.C.
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 26%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 2%
- Median home sale price: $660,000
10. Austin, Texas
- Percentage of listings above $1 million: 25%
- Percentage of listings above $5 million: 2%
- Median home sale price: $550,000
Point2 separately ranked mid-sized and small cities.
Three California cities — Glendale, Huntington Beach and Oxnard — topped the mid-size city rankings while the small cities were more spread out geographically.
East Honolulu, Hawaii, Bozeman, Montana and North Bethesda, Maryland, respectively, have the largest shares of million-dollar listings out of the 30 small markets Point2 analyzed.
How much do you need to earn to afford a million-dollar home?
Despite persistent inflation putting a strain on many consumers' finances and mortgage rates creeping up to the highest they've been since last fall, demand for luxury homes has remained hot.
You'd probably have to win the lottery or get a hefty inheritance to pay cash for a million-dollar home. But if you're looking to go big on your home purchase through the mortgage route, you'll still need to be bringing home a sizable salary.
Assuming you're able to put 20% down for a $1 million home purchase, you could be looking at a monthly mortgage payment of just over $5,000 with a 6.5% interest rate according to CNBC Make It's mortgage calculator.
Based on the standard budgeting guideline that says you shouldn't spend more than 30% of your income on housing, you'd need to be making around $15,000 a month, or at least $182,000 annually to afford your million-dollar home.
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