Every year, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® program publishes a trend report thatthe pulls together data from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Altrata (the firm behind the Wealth-X database), McKinsey & Company, and JamesEdition — along with surveys of more than 100 Luxury Property Specialists across the country. The 2026 edition landed in January, and it’s worth a closer read than most market reports.
Not because it’s full of surprises, but because it puts numbers behind what we’ve been watching in the North Texas luxury market for the past few years. Here’s what stood out — and what it means if you’re buying or selling at the higher end of the market in Rockwall County and Northeast Dallas.
The Luxury Market Is Behaving Differently Than the Broader Market
This is the central finding of the report, and it tracks with what we’re seeing locally. While affordability concerns and elevated mortgage rates have slowed activity in the mid-range market, the luxury segment has continued moving — and in some respects, moving confidently.
Nearly 80% of the Luxury Property Specialists surveyed for the report describe their markets as resilient. Nationally, single-family luxury home prices rose about 3% in 2025 while sales climbed roughly 4%. Inventory increased meaningfully — single-family luxury listings were up 14% year-over-year — but that additional supply didn’t push prices down. Well-positioned, move-in-ready homes continued to attract strong interest. Properties that needed significant work took longer and faced more negotiation.
The divergence between luxury and the broader market isn’t new, but the report argues it’s becoming more structural. High-net-worth buyers increasingly view real estate the way they view other long-term holdings — as a portfolio anchor rather than a transaction. That mindset tends to dampen volatility.
A Generational Wealth Transfer Is Reshaping Who’s Buying
The headline number from the 2026 report: roughly $4.6 trillion in global real estate wealth is expected to change hands over the next decade, with Gen X and Millennials as the primary recipients. The United States is projected to capture about 52% of that transfer — making it one of the most significant generational shifts in domestic real estate history.
What does that mean practically? The next wave of luxury buyers isn’t the classic portrait of an older, established wealth profile. Gen X buyers — now in their mid-40s to late 50s — are moving into their peak earning and inheritance years simultaneously. Millennials, meanwhile, are inheriting earlier than prior generations and entering the luxury market with different priorities than their parents had.
Buyers in the $5 million to $30 million net worth range are expected to drive the largest share of U.S. luxury activity going forward. In North Texas terms, that’s the buyer who’s looking at Heath waterfront, custom builds in Rockwall, or higher-end properties in the Preston Hollow and Park Cities corridors — and who is evaluating those purchases with a more investment-oriented lens than previous generations typically did.
What Today’s Luxury Buyers Actually Want
The report is clear on this: the “quiet luxury” aesthetic — understated, minimalist, almost deliberately understated — is giving way to something more intentional and more substantial. Luxury buyers are moving toward larger homes with real architectural presence. Nearly 64% of single-family luxury home inquiries in the survey were for homes with five or more bedrooms. The priorities showing up consistently include privacy, outdoor living space, wellness-oriented design, and long-term adaptability for multigenerational use.
“Turnkey” has become non-negotiable at this price point. About 59% of Luxury Property Specialists in the survey identified homes needing significant redesign or renovation as the hardest to sell — a notable data point for sellers who might be tempted to list without addressing obvious deferred maintenance or dated interiors.
The phrase the report uses is “nest investing” — the idea that the home itself has become a primary destination for luxury spending, not just a backdrop for it. Buyers want homes that function exceptionally well, feel intentional in their design, and are built for the long term. That’s a shift from the era when square footage and address alone drove luxury value.
Dallas Is on the List of Emerging Luxury Markets
The report specifically identifies Dallas among the markets emerging as what it calls “resilient wealth havens” — alongside Atlanta, Nashville, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and Minneapolis. These are markets drawing high-net-worth migration, offering favorable tax environments, strong economic fundamentals, and lifestyle quality that competes with traditional luxury hubs.
High-net-worth migration nationally increased over 40% in 2023 and is projected to keep rising. Texas’s tax structure — no state income tax, combined with the cost differential from coastal markets — remains one of the most consistent drivers of that inbound movement. The data in this report reinforces something we’ve seen on the ground for years: buyers are relocating to North Texas not as a compromise but as a strategic decision.
For the communities we work in — Rockwall, Heath, and the broader Lake Ray Hubbard corridor — that migration pattern translates into continued demand for well-built, private, amenity-rich properties. Waterfront and lake-view homes in this area consistently attract buyers who have relocated from higher-cost markets and are looking for something they couldn’t afford at the coast.
What This Means If You’re Selling a Luxury Home in North Texas
A few things stand out from this report that are directly relevant to sellers in the higher price ranges.
Condition matters more than it used to. The data is clear that turnkey, move-in-ready homes are outperforming properties that need work — not just in days on market, but in how close the final sale price is to list price. If your home hasn’t been updated in the last several years, that gap is worth addressing before you list, not after you start seeing low offers.
Positioning matters. Luxury buyers in 2026 are researching seriously and buying intentionally. They’re not making emotional decisions based on a beautiful photo — they’re evaluating how the home fits a longer-term lifestyle and investment thesis. Your marketing needs to speak to that, which means telling a story about how the home actually functions, not just how it photographs.
Pricing discipline matters more than speed. The report notes that the luxury market has reached healthier alignment between buyers and sellers — but that alignment is concentrated in well-priced, well-positioned homes. Overpriced listings are sitting longer and facing sharper negotiation. Starting at the right number is still the most reliable strategy for protecting your equity.
What This Means If You’re Buying
If you’re in the market for a luxury property in Rockwall County or Northeast Dallas, the environment right now is more balanced than it was two or three years ago. Inventory has improved. You have more options and, in most cases, more room to negotiate on properties that have been sitting.
That said, well-priced homes in desirable areas — particularly waterfront and view properties in Heath and Rockwall, and well-located custom homes throughout the county — are still attracting real competition. The inventory increase didn’t create a buyer’s market across the board; it created a bifurcated market where the best properties still move and the rest require patience from sellers.
If your search is in the $700K–$1.5M range in this area, we’re happy to walk you through what’s currently active, what’s moved recently, and where we see the best opportunities. The data is there — it just takes someone who knows this market to put it in context.
The Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® 2026 Trend Report was released January 16, 2026. Data referenced includes findings from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Altrata, McKinsey & Company, and a survey of more than 100 Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property Specialists. The full report is available at coldwellbankerluxury.com. Cindy and Cory Dunnican are Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Certified agents serving Rockwall County and Northeast Dallas.
