Us luxury home sales hit six-year high

The broker found that the number of transactions for properties worth $1 million or more climbed 34 per cent in the first three months of the year compared to 2012 - far above the 5 percent increase for the market as a whole over the same period

“While the U.S. housing market has shown clear signs of recovery in the last year, the market for homes priced at $1 million and above has rebounded at an even faster rate,” explains Redfin.

The wide gap in sales volume is likely due to the fact that owners of luxury homes are more likely to have the financial means to sell at little or no profit than other homeowners.

No matter what price range homebuyers are shopping in, they are still likely to face competition. Last month, 73 percent of offers Redfin agents wrote went into bidding wars. 

"The Orange County luxury market is extremely competitive right now," explains Redfin Agent Jennifer Chen. "It's a seller's market, and buyers are finding it necessary to put a lot of money down, waive contingencies, and include rent backs if they want to maximize their chances of getting the home they want."

The report also ranks the 22 markets covered in order of the number of million-dollar sales from January 2012 to March 2013.

San Francisco, California, topped the rankings with 474 sales with Burlingame proving the most affluent area. Los Angeles was close behind with 469 high-end transactions, particularly focused around manhattan Beach. Indeed, California accounts for four of the top five luxury markets, followed by Boston, Phoenix, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC and Dallas.

For more on luxury property around the world, visit FinestGlobal.com.