W
hile the overall U.S. housing market slowed last year, the ultra‑luxury segment broke new ground. In 2025, every one of the top ten most expensive home sales exceeded $100 million—up from five in 2023 and seven in 2024. Wealthy buyers poured cash into expanding their portfolios, snapping up everything from rustic Western ranches to pricey New York City penthouses and opulent South Florida estates, according to the Wall Street Journal.
South Florida claimed the nation’s most expensive sale of 2025, and even vacant lots in the sought‑after Indian Creek area—home to Jeff Bezos—commanded nine‑figure bids. Data gathered by the Journal and appraiser Jonathan Miller highlighted how ultra‑luxury transactions stood apart last year, earning the outlet the moniker “the year of the $100 million house.” Miller noted that the widening gap between the wealthy and the rest is reflected in real estate, and that the market outpaced the low‑rate buying frenzy of 2021.
Billionaire Vladislav Doronin sold his Star Island estate for $120 million in March, while a Miami Beach mansion fetched $105 million in July. Florida attracted more sales above $50 million than New York or California, with six properties entering the country’s top‑ten list. A record $225 million deal in Naples made it the second most expensive sale on record. Other high‑roller transactions included Doronin’s off‑market $120 million sale, a $105 million parcel next to Bezos’s Indian Creek estate, and the Spelling Manor, which changed hands for $110 million to Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
New York’s sole nine‑figure deal was the discreet $115 million sale of former Yahoo and Warner Bros. chief Terry Semel’s East Hampton estate to Ukrainian‑born energy magnate Len Blavatnik. California saw two $110 million deals in 2025: Australian billionaire James Packer purchased Mohamed Hadid’s former Bel‑Air mansion in May, and the Schmidts acquired the Spelling Manor again in August.
In December, Palantir CEO Alex Karp entered the top three sales by buying a 3,700‑acre Colorado monastery for $120 million. The ranch, near Aspen, had housed St. Benedict’s Monastery for decades.
