Ultra-luxury buyers hold upper hand in LA as agents make sense of new normal

"The market wasn't teetering, but it was very soft. Buyers were taking their time. They weren't rushing into buying. They were talking to agents about comparables. Some homes were sitting on the market for a year. The softening was hard to see with the ultra-luxury market still on a roll."

"There's no doubt the buyer has the upper hand. It is definitely a buyer's market, but that's quickly changing, especially as we anticipate interest rates to go down some time in 2026. Price chops started becoming more common in the ultra-luxury market in the back half of last year."

"In the high end, there was a lot of aspirational pricing going on. Wealthy people were just throwing numbers on homes because some of those properties were extraordinary, and it was difficult for us agents to comp them."

The luxury real estate market experienced a significant softening beginning in summer 2024, marked by buyers taking more time and homes lingering on the market. While ultra-luxury deals continued with sales exceeding $100 million, an increasing number of properties sold below asking price. Agents attribute this shift to aspirational pricing strategies where sellers initially listed properties at inflated values. By early 2025, price reductions became common, with notable examples including a Brentwood property reduced from $70 million to $58 million and a Bel Air mansion reduced from $139 million to under $100 million. Market experts confirm the transition to a buyer's market, though anticipate potential changes as interest rates are expected to decline in 2026.

Read at therealdeal.com