Wealth migration from the U.S. could be slowing, as America’s super-rich invest in ultra-luxury property closer to home.
If you once heard the U.S.’s ultra-luxury property market was dead or dying, then you may be surprised to hear cries of ‘Long Live the King’ today.
Add us as a preferred source to see more super-prime intelligence in Google.
An uncertain socio-political and economic climate has indeed signalled a migration of wealth in recent years, with the nation’s ultra-rich hedging their bets on wealth security, by investing in both established and emerging markets outside the US.
But data from the first two quarters of 2025 shows a boom has taken place within some of the country’s most aspirational real estate markets, with discerning buyers favouring the lifestyles they offer, its architectural distinction and a sense of greater security for UNHWIs offered by the incumbent Trump administration.
Here are four locations in the U.S. that prove we’re in a new, new golden age for the luxury real estate market in America – something underscored by a sharp uptick in property selling for eight figures and above in H1 (February 1 to May 1, 2025), so the Wall Street Journal reports.
1. Manhattan, NY
The Big Apple at a glance…
- 2024 vs 2025 $10m+ property sales (Feb-May): 124 to 150
- Percentage increase: +21%
- Highest property sale in 2025: $82.5m for Residence #45A at 220 Central Park South
Nowhere is the appetite for ultra-prime property more evident than in Manhattan. The New York City’s skyline, already a monument to ambition, has seen a resurgence in demand at the very top end. Building on the 300 properties that traded hands for more than $10m in 2024 – representing a collective value of $75bn – there has been a 21% increase in properties sold between the February-May sample period in the 2025.
More than 150 super prime properties were sold in the first half of 2025 in Manhattan, reflecting its enduring status as the crown jewel in the U.S.’s luxury property market. The Upper East Side, Tribeca, and the Billionaires’ Row corridor continue to command global attention, with buyers drawn to the city’s cultural gravitas and the enduring allure of classic pre-war apartments and cutting-edge penthouses alike.
2. Miami-Dade County, FL
The New American Riviera at a glance…
- 2024 vs 2025 $10m+ property sales (Feb-May): 33 to 49
- Percentage increase: +48%
- Highest property sale in 2025: $120m for 26 Star Island Drive
It’s official: the ultra-luxury property market on this sunny stretch of Florida’s Gold Coast – and beyond – is booming. The ‘new American Riviera’ has seen the number of $10m+ property sales double by virtually half in H1 of 2025, up from 33 sales across the same period in 2024, to 49 in 2025. The $120m sale of a mansion at 26 Star Island Drive in Miami Beach was a record for the area, and a gleaming example of the region’s market outperforming pre-pandemic sale numbers for luxury properties.
This whopping 48% increase reflects the cementing of the region’s status as a playground for the ultra-wealthy, underscored by a surge in single-family purchases of homes in the region (65% as houses, 35% as condos). Oceanfront mansions, sky-high penthouses, and private islands are snapped up by a cosmopolitan clientele seeking tax advantages, world-class amenities, and a sense of perpetual summer.
3. Los Angeles County, CA
California Dreaming at a glance…
- 2024 vs 2025 $10m+ property sales (Feb-May): 124 to 164
- Percentage increase: +29%
- Highest property sale in 2025: $110m in Bel-Air, LA
California remains a byword for luxury, though the landscape is evolving. Malibu set a new national record with the $210m sale of a contemporary estate perched above the Pacific in 2024, and this set in motion a trend for luxury real estate’s outperformance in the first half of 2025.
Of the 164 sales of property worth $10m and above, 105 had closed by April, with the most expensive sale a $110m Bel-Air mansion bought by Australian media tycoon, James Packer. Packer had previously sold a $93m mansion in LA – part of his already expansive $400m property portfolio. As you’d expect, the markets in districts such as Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, and Orange County remain robust, with buyers undeterred by fiscal impositions such as the 5.5% ‘Mansion Tax’ for properties over $10m, imposed in 2023.
4. Aspen, CO
The Great American Retreat at a glance…
- 2024 vs 2025 $10m+ property sales (Feb-May): 16 to 23
- Percentage increase: +44%
- Highest property sale in 2025: $66.5m in downtown Aspen
Beyond the urban core, America’s most iconic retreats continue to thrive. Aspen’s $1.4bn in $10m+ sales in 2024 were a testament to the enduring appeal of mountain living, where contemporary chalets, ski lodges and historic family abodes offer sanctuary amid the Rockies. Now, sales for ultra-luxury properties have grown by half in the first half of 2025, versus H1 of 2024, showing the mountain city’s popularity as a retreat for the super-wealthy.
A scarcity of super-prime property in Aspen means the city doesn’t compete with other major metropolitan locales on this list in terms of sales volume, but it more than punches above its weight in perceived desirability and status. The $108m sale of 419 Willoughby Way in 2024 puts the Aspen property in the top-ten in terms of most-expensive single-resident property sales in U.S. history.
