The Future of Luxury Real Estate: Key Trends Shaping 2025 (report)

Sotheby’s International Realty unveils 2025 Luxury Outlook Report: how an $84T wealth transfer and price normalization are reshaping luxury real estate

I am pleased to introduce the 2025 Luxury Outlook℠ report by Sotheby’s International Realty.

The 2025 Sotheby’s International Realty Luxury Outlook report highlights major trends shaping the high-end real estate market. A massive $84 trillion wealth transfer from Baby Boomers to younger generations is expected to influence buying trends, with younger buyers favoring modern, sustainable, and wellness-focused homes.

At the same time, wealthy individuals are moving at record levels, with 135,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) expected to relocate in 2025. These shifts are impacting luxury markets worldwide. Meanwhile, women are becoming a larger force in the high-end market, expected to control $34 trillion in assets by 2030.

The report also notes how climate disasters, such as the devastating January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles, could significantly affect property values. Additionally, branded residences—luxury homes connected to high-end brands—continue to grow in popularity, now representing a $66 billion global market.

Lastly, “Best Places to Live” rankings are playing a bigger role in driving property values, as buyers seek out cities that align with their lifestyle aspirations. Overall, the luxury real estate market is evolving rapidly, shaped by economic shifts, generational wealth, and changing buyer preferences.

Key findings featured in the report include:

• A foreward on the Atlanta high-end luxury condo market.
• The economy has largely normalized following the volatility of the pandemic years, which has led to adjustments in the property market. Overall, home sales volume in the U.S. in 2024 was a little behind 2023, but the upper brackets performed better than the average priced market.
• On January 7, 2025, devastating wildfires swept through Los Angeles County, California, destroying thousands of homes and businesses. J.P. Morgan economist Abiel Reinhart has predicted they may be the costliest climate disaster in U.S. history, which stems both from their size and the high value of the residential real estate they are destroying.
• The great wealth migration hit record levels in 2024 as an estimated 128,000 HNWIs migrated to new countries.
• By 2045, as much as US$84 trillion will have flowed from the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers into the bank accounts of their children and grandchildren. In response, the luxury market is changing to reflect the tastes and preferences of younger generations.
• Women are coming into their own as independent homebuyers. Women’s presence in the high-end housing market is set to increase. Women are expected to be in charge of US$34 trillion, or about 38% of all investable assets in the U.S. by 2030. Data from a March 2024 report from the Bank of America Institute indicates that the coming intergenerational wealth transfer “will contribute to women controlling more wealth than ever before.”
• Year after year, several cities consistently rank among the best places to live in the world. These lists can have genuine impacts on the cities they champion.
• Branded residences have existed for several decades, but the trend notably picked up during 2020, according to global architecture firm WATG. Since then, the firm has tracked 84 new projects that have opened around the world. As of 2024, the global branded residential market is valued at US$66 billion.
• Buyers continue to seek homes that align with their personal aspirations and values. Trends such as hybrid working, heightened demand for wellness amenities, and sustainability are shaping the luxury housing market and influencing buyers’ decisions.

You can view the report online by clicking the link below.

“CLICK HERE” to read the 2025 Luxury Outlook report (with a Foreword on the high-end Atlanta Condo Market)