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This spring, wealthy buyers are snapping up luxury homes at a rapid pace while many first-time buyers are being pushed further out of reach by soaring prices, rising living costs, and fears about financial stability. The divide is becoming so stark that economists say the housing market now reflects the same “K-shaped” economy reshaping the rest of the country.

Luxury Homes Boom While Affordable Sales Slip

Demand for high-end homes has been surging, with sales at the $1 million-plus price point growing faster than any other segment of the market. Meanwhile, sales of lower-priced homes, particularly properties under $250,000 that are often targeted by first-time buyers, have fallen over the past year.

The growing gap highlights how higher-income Americans continue to thrive while middle- and lower-income households struggle to keep pace with rising costs.

“That’s really what you end up seeing in a lot of sectors of the economy higher-income households are able to participate,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality.

For wealthier buyers, the advantages are stacking up.

They are typically more protected from inflation, more likely to hold substantial investments, and increasingly benefiting from stock market gains that have climbed to fresh highs.

“We are seeing a little more movement on the upper end,” said Lawrence Yun. “This could be a reflection of the fact that the stock market is essentially at record-high conditions.”

The Numbers Reveal a Growing Divide

According to data from the National Association of Realtors, April home sales for properties priced above $1 million jumped 9.3% compared with a year ago.

At the same time, homes priced between $250,000 and $1 million saw slower sales activity, while purchases in the $100,000 to $249,999 range dropped 1.3%.

The trend is creating a widening wealth gap in real estate.

Longtime homeowners who bought before the pandemic housing explosion are sitting on massive equity gains, giving them enormous leverage to upgrade into larger or more expensive homes.

Homeowners Who Bought Early Are Cashing In

“Move-up buyers have a distinct advantage because they’ve been riding this wave,” said Marcus Auerbach, a real estate agent in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay.

He has watched buyers who put just $35,000 down on starter homes five years ago walk away today with between $200,000 and $250,000 in equity after selling.

“For them, it has played out really well,” he added.

In suburbs around Milwaukee, higher-end homes priced around $800,000 and above have remained strong sellers this spring. All-cash offers are also becoming more common, another sign that affluent buyers are dominating the market.

Meanwhile, moderate-priced and entry-level homes are sitting longer.

“The Milwaukee suburbs are not exactly dirt cheap anymore,” Auerbach said.

First-Time Buyers Face a Crushing Reality

The same divide is showing up in the new construction market.

Ryan Marshall, CEO of PulteGroup, said during an earnings call last month that demand for move-up homes, senior living communities, and expensive upgrades remains strong.

“However, on the lower leg of the K, first-time buyers continue to struggle with the challenges of stretched affordability and fear of job loss,” Marshall said.

For many younger Americans, homeownership is beginning to feel less like a milestone and more like a distant fantasy.

Faith D., a 26-year-old searching for her first home in a small town in eastern Tennessee, said buying a home once felt achievable when she was in college. Then pandemic-era price spikes transformed the market.

Today, very little in her community is listed below $200,000.

She recently went under contract on a home that initially looked promising, only to back out after an inspection uncovered major HVAC and sewer issues.

Now restarting her search, she fears she may not find anything affordable this year.

“I’ve always been kind of on the sidelines looking in, trying to get enough money saved up to even consider getting a mortgage,” Faith said. “Even though I’m at a point now where I could afford it, it’s just insane to imagine paying that much to live in a town that doesn’t even have a hospital.”

Who Can Afford These Homes?

At the same time, higher-end listings priced above $500,000 have started appearing more frequently in Faith’s community, despite the area having a median household income below $50,000.

For many locals, those homes are financially impossible.

Faith and her real estate agent have repeatedly wondered who exactly is buying them.

Their conclusion points to a growing trend reshaping smaller American towns: wealthy out-of-state buyers, relocators, and vacation-home shoppers moving into areas locals can no longer afford.

As luxury sales climb and affordable inventory disappears, the housing market’s split is becoming harder to ignore and for millions of first-time buyers, the American dream is slipping further away.