Luxury Market Report · January 2026
The Luxury Market in December 2025
December broke the seasonal script entirely — sales rose instead of cooling, and Houston-area sellers closed the year firmly in control.
The National Picture
December usually marks the start of the luxury market's quiet stretch. Not this year. Single-family sales rose nearly 8% year over year and, more strikingly, jumped over 9% from November — attached-home sales did even better, up almost 16% month over month. That's the opposite of the typical October-to-January slowdown.
Falling interest rates get real credit here: inventory grew meaningfully compared to a year earlier, giving buyers more to choose from and more confidence to act. Sellers, meanwhile, stayed selective about what they brought to market — new listings actually pulled back from November even as the year-over-year count improved, a sign that sellers are pickier about timing, not absent from the market.
The year closed with single-family luxury sales up over 6% for all of 2025 versus 2024, and the gap between attached and single-family performance kept narrowing all year. Single-family held firmly in seller's-market territory; attached inched toward that same threshold. Whatever 2026 brings, it's starting from genuine strength.
Houston & The Woodlands Close the Year as Seller's Markets
Both Houston and The Woodlands & Spring ended 2025 as Seller's Markets for single-family luxury homes — Houston at a 26% sales ratio, homes selling for a median $966,000 after 54 days, and The Woodlands & Spring running even stronger at 31.6%, with a median 39 days on market.
Attached luxury homes in Houston landed in Balanced territory, selling close to asking price with buyers and sellers on roughly even footing.
If you're a single-family luxury seller in either market, December's numbers back up asking for real value — buyers were closing at strong ratios all the way through year-end. If you're buying, patience paid off less than it used to; well-priced homes weren't sitting.
Sales data and luxury benchmark prices sourced from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing's monthly Luxury Market Report, covering December 2025. Looking for the everyday market instead? See our Houston Market Report.
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