When you envision your dream house, what do you see? Ample amenities that bring ease to your daily life? Proximity to an exciting city? Spectacular views of the surrounding wilderness?
For the average person, being able to afford just one of these attributes would be a dream come true. In the last year, the average age of American homebuyers rose by six years — to a historic high of 56, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2024 Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers.
“First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers,” Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes.”
So even as young people remain unable to own homes, properties across the country are selling at record highs.
Case in point: James Jannard, the founder of the sunglasses brand Oakley (EL), sold his California property for a record-breaking $210 million this year, surpassing Beyonce and Jay Z’s mansion for the most expensive private home ever sold in the Golden State.
A Delaware-based LLC quietly purchased Jannard’s former property, which never officially went on the market. The mansion is more than 15,000 square feet with eight bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, and it includes 300 feet of private ocean frontage, according to Architectural Digest.
While the California sale is something of an outlier, compared with even the most grandiose mansions (particularly due to its ultra-desirable location), there have been spectacular homes that have sold across the country this year.
Quartz is rounding up the most expensive homes sold in each state as the year enters its final months. If you don’t see your home state listed yet, check back soon, because we will regularly update this list.
Click through to see the most expensive homes in each state.
