HousingWireHousingWire
Homes exposed to more days on market through the MLS are a point of reckoning for those opposed to the Clear Cooperation Policy as they claim it drives down sale prices. And in at least one segment of the national housing market, there appears to be a strong correlation between how long a property is listed and its sale price.
According to Concierge Auctions‘ 2025 Luxury Homes Index, the key factor in determining what price an ultra-luxury property will sell for is the number of days it has been on the market.
Concierge Auctions examined 56 of the nation’s luxury housing hubs for its annual index report. It included the 10 most expensive sales of 2024 in each of these markets, including Beverly Hills, California; Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Park City, Utah; Miami; the Hamptons of New York; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The markets were divided into eight regions: Southern California, Northwest Coast, Hawaii, Central, Southern States, Florida, Greater East Coast and New England.
“The No. 1 takeaway is that days on market are really toxic. And the longer a house sits, the more challenging it becomes to sell, and the bigger discount the seller is going to need to take to get a sale,” said Chad Roffers, CEO of Concierge Auctions.
Setting the right foundation
On average, ultra-luxury homes took 319 days to sell in 2024. In contrast, the median-priced U.S. home took less than 60 days to sell.
In total, more than half (54%) of the properties analyzed for the report took more than 180 days to sell. For this cohort, the average home spent 569 days on the market. Additionally, the company found that roughly one in eight properties took more than 600 days to sell, while 4% took more than 1,000 days to sell.
While 180 days may seem like a long time to sell a property, Roffers thinks that one of the biggest surprises from this report is that the definition of “too many days on market” has shrunk significantly.
“Maybe even just five years ago, I would say in the ultra high-end space a year was getting to be too long. And now you are looking at a few months, so that is something people really need to pay attention to,” Roffers said.
The properties that spend more than 180 days on the market sold for approximately 80% of list price. In contrast, the 46% of properties that sold in less than 180 days achieved approximately 87% of their list price.
On average, ultra-luxury properties were listed for 15% more than their eventual sale price, with some listed for up to 25% higher than what they actually sold for. The only location where they sold for more than list price were those in San Francisco, where they typically sold in less than 180 days. These properties, on average, sold for 102% of their list price.
Due to these trends, Roffers said that accurately pricing an ultra-luxury listing is key to successfully closing a transaction in a timely manner. And when it comes to addressing, he thinks the sooner you take action, the better.
“Having an upfront and borderline uncomfortable conversation with a seller when you are taking on the listing is the smartest thing to do,” he said. “Not only does that put the customer first and prepares them for the realities of the world they are living in, but it also gives you as an agent a broader menu of pivots to make if needed — you are never having to back up and reset the relationship because you laid the right foundation upfront.”
If a seller comes to an agent with an outlandishly high price for their property, Roffers suggests asking the seller what they’re basing that price on and the comparables they’re looking at.
“I think the biggest challenge for the best professionals in this sector is not getting the listing, but the information the seller is getting from the other agents they are interviewing,” Roffers said. “It can be kind of an arms race in terms of escalating feedback around the value of a property, and I think that is where a lot of the damage is done.”
When to change course
As properties sit on the market, some sellers and agents are considering the auction route — which is where Roffers and his firm comes in.
While he has noticed more sellers and agents using Concierge Auctions as a direct go-to-market strategy for selling a property, Roffers also believes an auction is a good pivot to consider roughly 120 days into the property’s listing journey.
“If it is a property where a price reduction could guarantee a sale in 30 days, then do that, but if you can’t credibly guarantee a seller a sale in 30 days with a price cut, then we are a good option,” Roffers said.
While any property can be auctioned, he feels the auction route is best for those that are “incomparable in nature.”
Although the vast majority of the ultra-luxury properties analyzed sold for less than their list price, the company also found that the sale price for this segment was up 4.7% annually in 2024. This is still below the peak price appreciation set in 2021.
And despite being below 2021 levels, ultra-luxury sales prices are up 44.2% compared to 2015, representing an average annualized growth rate of 3.7%.
Broken out by region, Florida (+30.2%), Northwest California (+25.5%) and the Southern states (+18%) posted the strongest sales-price growth last year, while the Central (-3.1%), New England (-4%) and East Coast (-13%) regions posted the largest declines.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, while Roffers is still seeing some of the aspirational pricing witnessed in 2024, he believes that ultra-luxury sellers and buyers are starting to find a middle ground.
“I think sellers were holding on to peak prices or hoping for a really strong economy and pricing their properties as if that economy was already happening and buyers were just not playing ball,” Roffers said.
“I believe in the second half of the year, we are going to see buyers and sellers get closer to a shared view of pricing, which will allow more transactions to happen.”
