It’s always interesting to compare the region’s high-end housing to the rest of the market’s performance. November wasn’t an exception because the high-enders are picking up activity as we near the end of the year. 

Across the region, home sales have declined for five months. Last month they were 29% below last year’s sales. In the $500,000 and above price range, they’ve declined for the past six months. But they’re only 18% below last year’s sales. 

Expect some shifts in the December numbers.   

Pending sales for the overall market are down 18% from last year. But in the high-end market, they are up almost 12%. That is probably not enough to make a big difference in the median sales price. Still, it will nudge the average price a little higher than November’s $263,372. 

There’s also a noticeable difference in the active inventory and new listings. 

The region’s overall inventory is 11% better than last year. It’s almost 60% better than last year for homes priced at $500,000 and up. And high-end homes are coming to market at a faster pace. 

New listings for the overall market at the end of last month were down almost 8% but almost 46% higher in the top price range. 

Across the nation, sales of luxury homes are down 28%. That is a little more than 10 points higher than non-luxury sales. It’s yet another example of how hyper-local housing markets are because the local market is seeing opposite results. 

During the first 11 months of this year, non-luxury home sales are running 10% below last year. In the top price range, they’re-up a little over 28%.