Sales of million dollar homes swoon

Source: CNBC

Sales of homes priced above $1 million fell 4 percent in July from a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Activity is far more robust at the entry level and middle of the market, thanks to a drop in mortgage interest rates and pent-up demand. The luxury market, however, doesn’t rely much on mortgages so much, but is far more sensitive to financial markets.Luxury home values nationwide fell in the first quarter of this year and recovered by barely 1 percent annually in the second quarter, according to Redfin, a real estate brokerage. Redfin defines a home as luxury if it is among the top 5 percent most-expensive homes sold in a city. Luxury home prices fell 11 percent in San Francisco and 4 percent in Bellevue, Wash, home to an outsized number of tech workers whose wealth is tied closely to the stock market.