Resiliency Is the New Definition of Luxury
In a volatile world, affluent buyers are no longer chasing the dream of the trendiest locations or the fastest appreciation. Instead, they are rewarding the places and properties that hold their value over time.
That shift is one of the core findings in the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® program’s newly published The Report 2026.
After reviewing insights from The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (“the Institute”), Altrata, McKinsey & Company, and luxury marketplace JamesEdition, it became clear that resiliency has become the new benchmark of luxury. Resiliency, in today’s luxury context, means the ability of a local market and a property to preserve value through volatility, maintain liquidity across cycles, and continue attracting qualified demand even as broader economic dynamics shift. It means you’re seeing conditions like stability in pricing, consistency in buyer interest, and durability in long-term performance.
Five trends help explain why resiliency rose to the top of our analysis this year.
- Luxury sales and prices are outperforming the broader market
Despite higher borrowing costs, geopolitical risk, and economic uncertainty, the luxury segment has remained remarkably stable.
In 2025, U.S. luxury home sales grew 2.9% — nearly double the pace of the traditional housing market at 1.7%, per NAR. Prices haven’t dropped dramatically either, and in fact, have risen approximately 3% year-over-year for single-family homes and 4% for attached properties. As I noted in the report’s foreword, “The luxury real estate market has not mirrored the broader housing market, where affordability pressures and higher borrowing costs have kept activity constrained.”
What’s most remarkable about this new chapter for luxury real estate—from our point of view—is that it is not behaving the way it has in past downturns. Market fundamentals remain strong, and we expect that stability to carry forward through the coming year.
- Real estate wealth continues to rise even through volatility
Annual transactions gave us an immediate picture of resilience, which is certainly important. But we also examined the market through a longer historical lens with Altrata’s help.
Since 2020, the absolute dollar value invested globally in real estate has risen nearly 30%, even through one of the most volatile macroeconomic periods in recent memory. Total property holdings also reached record highs: VHNW real estate wealth rose from $5.64 trillion in 2020 to $6.55 trillion in 2025, and UHNW assets climbed from $2.61 trillion to $3.04 trillion. In other words, while portfolio shares fluctuate with financial markets, the underlying value of property continues to grow, underscoring real estate’s enduring role in long-term wealth preservation.
As Maeen Shaban, Director of Research and Analytics at Altrata, explained in the report: “For ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices, property ownership provides stability, diversification, and a hedge against inflation. It also offers strategic advantages, whether it’s tax planning, residency, or intergenerational wealth preservation.”
- Affluent buyers are adopting a legacy mindset
Perhaps the most important shift underway is psychological.
Luxury real estate is increasingly being viewed less as a speculative asset and more as a cornerstone of identity, stability, and long-term wealth preservation. In other words, high-net-worth buyers are thinking in decades, not cycles. This “legacy mindset” is contributing to a rise in “nest investing” — i.e. favoring assets that protect capital, preserve value, and anchor generational wealth.
Altrata data suggests that high-net-worth consumers are directing a growing share of discretionary dollars toward the home. Home-related expenditures — spanning design, furnishings, technology, and domestic help — are projected to rise 4.8% globally and 6.0% annually in the U.S. among individuals with more than $5 million in net worth. Among U.S. UHNW households, spending on home luxuries now exceeds spending on personal goods by 18.5%.
While growth in home-related spending may not yet outpace personal luxury goods, the shift is notable. It could signal a reordering of priorities—away from visible consumption and toward hybrid assets that help them build long-term wealth and day-to-day enjoyment. Recounting what Colleen Baum, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, told us for the report: “What’s remained durable for this consumer is spending on experiences, particularly travel and dining, which continue to be resilient categories. The second priority is home. Data consistently shows spending on the home as one of the most stable categories.”
Watch this trend gain traction as historic wealth transfer between generations in the coming decade takes root. Per Altrata’s 2024 Family Wealth Transfer Report, roughly 1.2 million individuals with a net worth of $5 million or more were projected to collectively pass down nearly $31 trillion over the next decade. By 2025, Altrata revised that estimate upward to $38.3 trillion expected to change hands globally within the same timeframe.
- In the U.S., wealth growth and housing investment remain tightly linked
“Even in periods of economic turbulence, real estate continues to serve as a stabilizing force in wealth portfolios,” Shaban told us for The Report. “Price appreciation, strong demand, and growing direct investment by private investors have supported steady nominal growth since 2020.”
Nowhere is that stabilizing role more evident than in the United States.
Since 2020, affluent households with more than $5 million in net worth have seen total wealth rise 58.2% — almost perfectly matched by a 59.9% increase in real estate investment. The parallel growth underscores how closely housing remains tied to wealth creation at the highest levels.
Globally, the picture looks a bit different. While worldwide wealth rose 30.7% over the same period, real estate investment increased only 16.3%, highlighting the uniquely central role housing continues to play in American wealth formation.
For U.S. high-net-worth investors, real estate is not simply a lifestyle asset. It remains a primary engine of wealth creation, preservation, and long-term financial stability.
- New resilience markets are emerging
Legacy wealth havens like New York and London will never lose their luster. However, affluent buyers are broadening their lens as geographic mobility increases and capital becomes more fluid. As a result, a new class of destinations is exhibiting many of the same resilience traits once limited to the New Yorks and Londons: global recognition, diversified buyer demand, innovation-driven economies, supply-constrained properties, and long ownership cycles that support pricing and limit turnover.
Between 2020 and 2025, we found six U.S. markets — Minneapolis–St. Paul, Greater Atlanta, Dallas–Fort Worth, Nashville, Salt Lake City, and San Diego — that showed consistent strength across price growth, sales activity, and inventory confidence. Five-year median price appreciation spanned from the mid-40% range to more than 90% in these cities, while sales momentum remained positive even as national trends softened. These markets attract highly diversified buyer pools and high concentrations of cash buyers, reducing sensitivity to interest rates and volatility.
Beyond the U.S., the U.S., UAE, Italy, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia rank among the top destinations for migrating millionaires, according to Henley & Partners. Meanwhile, countries such as the U.K. are experiencing increased wealth outflows.
Evolving priorities suggest that the next generation of wealth haven markets will be evaluated through a much broader, more multidimensional lens.
A New Definition of Luxury?
Nearly 80% of surveyed Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property Specialists now describe their markets as “resilient” — a sign not only of confidence in the underlying strength of their local markets, but of the growing importance their clients place on investing in communities and homes that preserve value, support quality of life, and endure across cycles.
Explore the full findings in The Report 2026 — and return here over the next several weeks as we continue to unpack the trends shaping the luxury real estate this year.
SHARE
