#and not the cool downtown Austin they’d just moved into a year ago

[spoookiepie]

Last post is so fuckin bleak, man…

I want so badly to travel and see the world but holy shit I want people to actually live in the places I travel to!

My own home city is suffering a similar (tho not AS extreme, yet) problem of touristy gentrification and it sucks. Everyone wants to visit or move here “for the culture”, and that very act is steadily chasing out the culture.

[bike42]

April 13-15, 2021 IAT Heading South

The funny thing about Spring in Wisconsin is it can be variable. After two weeks of amazing warm weather, we’re back up North in the cold. It’s actually “normal,” weather for April, but after what we’ve had recently, it’s kind of hard to go back. Actually, it was perfect weather for hiking, we just had to keep moving.

This time, we’re staying in the Holiday Inn Express in Antigo, WI (population 7780). I had a Waunakee Chamber Board meeting via Zoom early Tuesday morning, so Jeff and I drove up late Monday night so I’d be able to take that call before joining the gang.  The hotel experience is different than when we’re together in a cabin, but we can’t always have everything perfectly aligned.

Kent had shoulder replacement surgery about two weeks ago, so this hotel option worked out well for Kent and Lynn too.  He can’t hike “off road” for a bit (risk of falling), so he’ll hang out while Lynn hikes with us.  I will say it felt odd not having him along on the hike.  They arrived at the hotel early Tuesday morning, and Lynn rode with us to rendezvous at the start with Dan, Tam and Gary who had already left a car where we’d finish our Tuesday hike.

There were a few snow flurries in the air as we set off hiking just after 10am.  We all dressed in layers, but the 34 degrees with a high of 40 caught me a bit off guard and I had to get creative and layer in some clothes that I’d brought for hanging out in the evening!

Everyone started out in gaiters, which was good as it wasn’t long until we were detouring around or splashing through puddles.  In fact, as we were traversing around 4H Camp Susan, the road was completely submerged so we hacked our way into the woods, up a hill, and bushwhacked back down to the trail.

A little more than three miles, and we were crossing Hwy 45 – which marked the end of the Highland Lakes Segment and the start of the Summit Moraine Segment.

We came upon the Jack Lake ski trails area, and a nice little warming shelter with a porta-potty.  It had a stove and wood – we could have had a fire if we’d needed to warm up.  We were glad to have a picnic table and took an extended break there.  The terrain was like other cross-country ski areas we’d hiked before – nice wide-open trails, but hilly!

After a few easy miles, we came to a fancier warming shelter called the Spychalla Lodge.  We didn’t need another break, but we took one anyway.

From there, we continued on to Veteran’s Memorial Park. My folks had checked this out already, so I knew to expect cute little cabins and a nice campsite – I thought we were just a few weeks too early for camping, however – plus we needed Wi-Fi for a few conference calls.  Just outside the campground, we entered the Langlade County Arboretum, where all the trees were labeled – we found it to be quite educational.  The trail wound around several beautiful lakes:  Game, High, Low and Jack Lakes – said to be named by card-playing loggers that had previously inhabited this area.

Our guide book warned us of possible issues with floating bogs and beaver dams, but we had no issues.  We arrived at our end point for the day about 3PM – could have gone further, but Jeff and I had a Zoom call to be on at 6:30PM that evening so we’d planned for just over 11 miles today.

It was a windy day, but we were mostly protected in the trees – the sound of the wind in the high pines was awesome.  While it never got warm (although Gary was hiking in a t-shirt), it was a pleasant day.  The woodland flowers were just beginning to bloom, but they were advanced enough to use my “Picture This” app to help identify them.  The forest and lakes were alive with the sounds of birds including sandhill cranes, geese, several kinds of ducks and I really loved the sounds of the Ruffed Grouse as they were “drumming,” to attract females or ward off challenging males.

Back to the hotel, and we walked over to the Bowling Alley across the parking lot – always a fun experience and the place was hopping, and the food was ok.

Wednesday morning, we awoke to snow on the cars, and the temperature was 33 degrees as we set out.  I was the navigator, but wasn’t paying attention as Gary, Lynn and I were in a deep conversation about Waunakee’s Community Study on race ... so we missed a turn and saw a bit more of Langlade County!

We did the car drop, and at the start, there was a moss-covered stump that I’d photographed Tuesday afternoon – what a contrast to now find it snow covered!!

We set out at a brisk pace, and quickly finished the last 3.5 miles of the Summit Moraine segment.  The terrain was mostly wide, grassy rolling roads, but then it turned and climbed along a ridge.  Someone had built steps out of large rocks – the first time I can recall seeing that. I imagine it was a lot of work to build that, but made the climb easier. We skirted several beautiful lakes, and saw a beautiful DCA site.

The trail paralleled Highway A for a stretch, where we got a few honks from cars going past.  We crossed the highway and began the Lumbercamp Segment.  The trail went through the Peters March State Wildlife Area, and I expected it to be wet, but aside from an occasional large puddle in the low spot on the trail, it wasn’t bad.  No one got wet feet today!

We walked along lumber roads, mostly grass covered thankfully. We only came upon a short stretch where there was active logging with equipment present but no one working today.  The roads there were muddier, but nothing like the mud soup that we’d experienced several weeks ago on the Highland Lakes Segment!  

I slowed my pace a bit and immersed in the peace of the surrounds – enjoying seeing the new growth of the trees and flowers, and listening to the cacophony of the birds.

After six miles, we searched out a place to stop for lunch. We’d been spoiled yesterday coming upon several shelters and areas with picnic tables!  We finally spotted a downed tree, and Jeff got out his saw and lopped off a few branches to make room for the seven of us.  It made us all think about the lunch we had sitting on a log atop a mountain in Slovenia a few years ago!

We continued trekking, on the lookout for the “Hillbilly Hilton” that we’d read about in our guidebook.  Its all that remains from the Norem Lumber Camp which operated from 1920 to 1938.  The camp originally had several log structures, but the only remnant is the root cellar, which has been renovated (?) into a respite for hikers.  There were several sleeping platforms, a table and shelves with various things that had left behind.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of trash both inside and outside.  In the event of severe weather, it’d be a good place to take shelter, but I’d have been more comfortable in a tent versus sleeping inside there!!

We had another snack, and the guys kicked into turbo mode, with Gary issuing a self-challenge to finish the hike by 3pm.  Tam, Lynn and I hiked a more moderate pace, stopping to check out the ramps (wild onion, or wild leek) – the forest was full of them, and I’d never seen them growing in Wisconsin before.  Made us wish we were cooking dinner tonight!  

The trail left the primitive road and headed up of high-relief hummocky topography.  Once again, we found ourselves stumbling over roots and rocks, which actually was a welcomed change from the monotony of the forest roads.  We came upon the beautiful Baker Lake, with a steep boat launch and a wooden slide to launch a canoe or kayak – would be a great secluded place to paddle!

From there, we climbed up a steep hill to Hwy-52 and the endpoint of our segment (and the guys patiently waiting).

We hiked over 16 miles today, in just under 7 hours. Great pace, but not too challenging. Feels great to be able to put in these longer distances.  Gary commented that we had “rain, snow, sun, and wind; everything but locusts!”  All in all, a great day.

We picked up the car at the start and got back to the hotel about 4:30pm, where Kent was waiting for us.  He walked around Antigo, but reported it was much colder and windier than what we’d experienced in the protection of the forest.  Since we had a Zoom call scheduled with Donovan of Embark Explorations (our Kilimanjaro guide company) at 7pm, we decided to head out to dinner right away.  Tam found the Fifth Avenue Restaurant in downtown Antigo that had a good-looking menu and great reviews, so we headed there.  Like most placed up north, they’re a bit casual with COVID restrictions and masks seemed to be optional and they had no problem with our group of 7 people sitting at one table.

We had a great dinner, lots of food, my favorite Leinenkugel Creamy Dark beer, and Jeff and I got pie to go from the Dixie Diner next door (same ownership – same family operating both places for 75 years).  

After dinner, we went back to our “suite” at the Holiday Inn Express and huddled around Jeff’s laptop for our call with Donovan (and George Sanchez, our BrightStar colleague from Austin TX who will be joining us in Africa).  Donovan and his wife have a pact to live somewhere else in the world every five years. They’d lived in Tanzania at the base of Kilimanjaro, and are now living in Guatemala so he was logged in from there. The call went well, but a storm was approaching there – we could see the lighting in his background window, and as he predicted, he lost power towards the end of the call.  We learned enough to get super excited for our September trek! I’m so thankful that Gary suggested this IAT adventure to help get us so comfortable with multi-day trekking and test out our cold weather gear in preparation for all the weather we’ll encounter on our 9 days on the mountain in Tanzania.

Thursday, we woke to clearer skies, but still cool – the sunshine makes all the difference, mentally as much as physically.  An easy car drop, we found ourselves at the start of Kettlebowl and hiking down into the bowl by 7:50AM.

The road opened up at the base of the Kettlebowl Ski Area, a nice little hill with some short, steep sections, served by several rope-tows, so that made me think of the nearby Paul Bunyan Ski Hill where I learned to ski!

Kettlebowl is a segment I’d read about as one where people had trouble getting lost so I was a bit nervous. It was rated a 4 / 4 so that got our attention as well.  In reality, it was mostly wide forest roads, with numerous intersections.  Perhaps in full leaf out, some of the signage is obscured, but we had no issues.  We did have over 1000 feet in elevation gain, but easier to do with wide grassy paths versus narrow rocky trails.

 Our group set off fast, which helped warm us up on the cold morning. After a mile, the layers started coming off.  After about 3 miles though, I backed off a bit to enjoy the hike a bit more.  Most of this area had been logged long ago, and has a successional forest of aspen and birch.  Without leaves, we could really see through the trees – lots of hills, kettles, large rocks.  We didn’t see wildlife, but I’m sure they saw us!

After about 5 miles we had a break – I went into the trees to find a large rock to sit on while I enjoyed the coffee I’d brought along with a fig bar.  I really enjoyed the tranquility of being “alone” in the forest, knowing Jeff and my friends were just over the ridge – not exactly out of ear shot, so I had my “adventure with security” moment.  I honestly cannot imagine doing these treks alone, but many people do.  Our group is so compatible too, its ok for some to head out fast and work on cardio, and for others to linger back and talk or just enjoy the solace of the hike.

We completed the nearly 10-mile trek well before noon.  We’d left two cars there, so Gary and Lynn headed back to Antigo to pick up Kent at the hotel, while Jeff and I drove Dan and Tam back to their car.  We all met up at the Dixie Diner in Antigo for a hearty lunch.  I was thinking cheeseburger of course, but their special today was a Pastie – either beef or chicken variety.  My love of dough led me to choose that option – it was good, but very different than what I was used to.  It had large chunks of beef and potatoes, while I’m used to more of finely diced version, more like a hash stuffed in a pastry.  

After lunch, we drove back to the cemetery where the Kettlebowl segment ended to begin what’ll be a 30-mile connecting route (CR) – through the end of the Guthook West portion and onto the Central portion of the app!  Since we had a great day and we were all feeling good, we decided to knock off 5 miles of the CR, and Kent walked with us – we felt complete as a group again!

I’d developed a small blister on my right heel yesterday, that was unusual.  This morning’s hike, even though I’d had a Band-Aid on it, expanded it to quarter size.  It didn’t prevent me from hiking; I hardly thought about it.  But I’ll need to work on route cause (probably will have to give up pedicures and my foot softening lotion and build up my calluses before September)!

We had a fast 5 miles back to the tiny village of Polar, then a shuttle back to the cars and we were all on our way home.  We’re still a 2.5-hour drive to our home – getting closer as the “crow flies,” but its still a remote location with small county roads to drive to get to our locations.  After our 4 days next month, we’ll be within two hours – still too far for day trips, but that will come this summer.

[gillespialfredoe01806ld]

Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed

bluejayphoto/iStock; realtor.com

Time was, a million dollars seemed to evoke so much to everyday Americans. Swanky vacations in the French Riviera. Bespoke suits and garages filled with Bentleys and Mercedes-Benz roadsters. Corporate titans sipping champagne (mixed with the tears of oppressed workers). And perhaps one thing most of all: big, beautiful, luxury homes.

But let’s get back to present-day reality. A million bucks, however impressive a sum, is no longer synonymous with mansions, or even particularly high-end housing, in much of the country. In fact, there’s now a huge discrepancy in what you can get for a tidy seven-figure price tag across the United States. In Atlanta, it could indeed net you a gigantic mansion in the exclusive suburbs. But in San Francisco, a seven-figure check barely gets you a compact condo with one bathroom.

One thing’s for sure: With a housing shortage steadily pushing prices higher, the share of homes listed for $1 million and over is steadily on the rise. It increased from 3.2% to 4.3% from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2017.

In large swaths of the country, a cool million has mostly come to represent the new standard for good, upper-middle-class housing. “In more markets than ever before, the million-dollar mark is the new benchmark for that green lawn and white picket fence,” says Javier Vivas, manager of the realtor.com® economic research team.

So where are the markets for million-dollar homes growing the fastest?

To find out, our data team ranked more than 900 metropolitan areas. For each metro, we compared the percentage of homes that cost upward of $1 million in the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2014, to see how they’d changed over the past three years.

Our emphasis was on growth, not just luxury. So to rule out metros that were already uber-wealthy—resort towns like Aspen, CO, or go-go urban meccas like San Francisco—we filtered out markets that already had more than 10% of million-dollar listings in 2014. For geographical diversity, we also limited our list to two metros in every state.

Million-dollar questions. Million-dollar babies. Million. Dollar. Listings. So where can you find the most new members of housing’s million-dollar club? Grab your checkbook, and let’s take a look.

1. Denver, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 3.3% Million-dollar growth: 6.1%

The blazing-hot housing market in Denver is pushing middle-class homes into a price category not long ago reserved for luxury estates. Nearly 1 in 10 homes in metro Denver was listed for more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2017.

What’s making it happen? “The secret is out that Denver is a wonderful place to live,” says Jeff Plous, a local real estate agent from One Realty. A booming tech scene, gorgeous scenery with plenty of outdoor recreation possibilities, and yep, even legalized recreational marijuana have conspired to make Denver the new place to be.

“Lots of Californians are moving here,” Pious says. “They sold their homes for multi-million dollars, bought another one here for $1 million, and still have plenty of cash left in the bank.”

Neighborhoods south and east of downtown are packed with big-ticket single-family homes, ranging from $1 million to $10 million. Until recently, neighborhoods in the northwest of the city, where humble bungalows house working-class families, remained surprisingly affordable. But as ever-rising tides of young professionals flood in, flyers offering to buy homes for cash have proliferated, and million-dollar custom homes with high-end finishes are selling faster than discounted Rocky Mountain oysters.

2. Santa Rosa, CA Picturesque downtown Santa Rosa, CA

John Elk/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.1% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 8.1% Million-dollar growth: 6%

As housing refugees from San Francisco flood the market of Santa Rosa, one hour to the north, the local home prices are skyrocketing. The rise in million-dollar listings in this wine country hamlet has been slowly building for the past five years, but the steady drip has become a torrent now, due to the booming tech biz.

“We have a lot of people who work remotely, or they go to the office twice a week,” says real estate agent Kimberly Sethavanish from Kimberly James Real Estate. “They’d rather live here and have a little bit more land than [buy] a 800-square-foot house in the city” of San Francisco.

Gorgeous country estates at the foot of the Sonoma Mountains abound in metro Santa Rosa. High-end buyers value large homes and lots, stunning vistas, and loads of privacy, all within a short drive of downtown.

Wealthy retirees from across the San Francisco Bay Area often relocate to Santa Rosa for an active lifestyle. Sitting in a bucolic region ideal for biking and hiking, Santa Rosa is also a short drive away from the wineries of Sonoma and Napa counties, and from 17 miles of gorgeous coastline.

3. Boulder, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9% Million-dollar growth: 5.7%

Known for its pristine natural surroundings—Flatiron Mountains, lush forest, and crystal-clear creeks—Boulder is a small mountain town with big price tags. Wealthy buyers who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle plunk down millions for fine residences, including posh country homes, contemporary ranches, and mountain-view retreats. Urbanites settle down in remodeled mansions near downtown, with quick access to craft breweries and farm-to-table restaurants.

But when locals talk about million-dollar homes, these days they’re likely to be referring to regular middle-class abodes. Boulder’s seven-figure real estate market has been on an incredible tear in recent years, as the city struggles with a lack of available housing in the midst of a tech boom. Boulder is home to dozens of start-ups and major outposts of corporate giants like Google and Microsoft, and it’s running out of land to build new homes.

4. Truckee, CA Truckee, CA

Witold Skrypczak/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 12.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 7.1% Million-dollar growth: 5.3%

For generations, the Lake Tahoe region has been a favorite vacation spot for Northern Californians, with world-class skiing in winter and water activities and gorgeous hiking in summer. A lakefront property used to represent the apex of luxury, but increasingly, wealthy buyers are drawn to new communities with top-flight amenities in Truckee, just north of the lake.

Martis Camp, a luxury community that boasts tournament-standard golf courses and a private high-speed lift to the Northstar ski resort, leads in luxe home values with a median list price of $3.5 million. Even the cheapest home there lists for $1.8 million. Similar communities, where homes feature modern design and acre lots, have also seen explosive growth in the million-plus-dollar segment.

5. Fredericksburg, TX Downtown Fredericksburg, TX, often called “Fritztown” because of its German history

Chris Litherland/Wikipedia CC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 13.6% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.9%

Located in central Texas, this is a town of ruggedly beautiful terrain, scattered live oaks, and tall grass prairie. In the region dubbed the Texas Hill Country, the latest wave of settlers are wealthy transplants seeking a picturesque place to retire that’s also within distance of urban amenities. Big city life is just an hour and a half away—Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south.

“You get easy access to urban life, yet you don’t have to live in the San Antonio ’burbs,” says real estate agent Amy Patrick with Keller Williams City View. “Here we have the river, lots of great little places to eat, and local shopping boutiques.”

The moneyed class is typically looking for 100-plus-acre “recreational ranches” where residents can enjoy hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Aside from the strong cowboy vibe, there are plenty more cosmopolitan cultural offerings, like museums, theaters, art galleries, and numerous festivals all year.

Fun fact: Fredericksburg has the highest share of millionaire households in Texas—they make up nearly 6.5% of its population, according to the wealth research firm Phoenix Marketing International.

6. Heber, UT

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 10.5% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.7%

Located in a beautiful valley outside Salt Lake City, two peaceful mountain towns—Heber City and Midway—have become the newest regional hot spots for premium real estate. You dig outdoor activities? These are dream locales.

Only 20 minutes south of the better-known resort town of Park City, Heber’s million-dollar home market is expanding every bit as quickly as Park City moves farther out of reach. The same $1 million that buys you a mountain villa in Heber is barely enough for a ski cabin in Park City.

Ritzy communities have sprouted all over the Heber Valley, offering amenities designed to appeal to the elite.

“The Heber and Midway area is where a big chunk of the future growth is,” says real estate consultant David Lawson from Engel & Volkers. “When people come to Park City and look at what their money gets them, these towns get all the more attractive.”

7. Boston, MA

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.9% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.1%

Hey, what the heck is blue-blooded Boston—certainly no stranger to luxury dwellings—doing on this list of newbie million-dollar homes? While it’s true that Louisburg Square and Beacon Hill have no shortage of red-brick townhouses fetching $10 million or more, there’s new growth far from such trophy addresses, or those in wealthy suburbs like Brookline. An epic building boom in recent years has added thousands more luxury housing units, mostly apartments, in every corner of this town.

Ambitious developers have shoehorned glaringly modern, glassy apartments into neighborhoods of historic row houses. In the gloriously expensive South End and West End, condo units with custom cabinetry and 16-inch-deep cast-iron tubs range from $1 million to $2 million. Occasionally, you’ll come across a single-family home, but they usually start at $3 million.

Even perennially working-class neighborhoods like South Boston have seen a budding market for million-dollar homes.

8. Seattle, WA Downtown Seattle, WA

bluejayphoto/iStock

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 5.3% Million-dollar growth: 2.4%

As Seattle’s population of the “tech wealthy” and “global affluent” is on the rise, seven-figure homes are becoming the norm. Good deals are snapped up fast, virtually citywide.

Even once unimpressive neighborhoods like Ballard and Delridge have also seen dramatic shifts of late. Bungalows have been torn down to make room for new development. Newly constructed luxury condos and renovated century-old homes are proving extremely popular, thanks to their proximity to downtown and high-tech employers.

9. Santa Fe, NM

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 11.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.4% Million-dollar growth: 2.3%

If down-to-earth Santa Fe doesn’t strike you as a luxe market, check out designer Tom Ford’s $75-million ranch, which went on the market last year. Like Ford, many who own high-end homes in Santa Fe don’t live here full-time. They are vacationers or retirees who are attracted to the city’s renowned galleries, clear skies, and easy access to national forests.

The juniper-covered hills northwest of town are dotted with spacious estates with million-dollar price tags—ensuring privacy and panoramic views. Buyers often spot ranch-style haciendas that come with sprawling acreage for horseback riding, or gated adobes that honor authentic Pueblo-Spanish architecture.

10. Charleston, SC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 4.9% Million-dollar growth: 2.1%

Beaches, mild weather, and beautiful historic homes—Charleston checks almost every box for a perfect place to buy a second home. And that’s why this old-world city has never fallen out of fashion among business moguls and celebs.

But lately it’s been the new-money class, many of whose members work in the city’s fast-growing tech game, fueling the upper-end real-estate boom. Developers have embarked on a new construction frenzy on the waterfront—many are tearing down old properties and building brand-new luxury ones.

“Charleston is sophisticated, artistic, and has incredible food,” says Thomas Bennett, a Realtor with Carriage Properties. “If you want to buy a nice second home on the coast between New York and Florida, this is it.”

Sullivan’s Island, about 15-minute drive from downtown, is a beloved spot to buy a lavish second (or fifth) home. Beach homes are built with broad piazzas and high ceilings to catch sea breezes. Only four homes on Sullivan’s Island are on sale for less than a million. Act fast!

The post Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed

bluejayphoto/iStock; realtor.com

Time was, a million dollars seemed to evoke so much to everyday Americans. Swanky vacations in the French Riviera. Bespoke suits and garages filled with Bentleys and Mercedes-Benz roadsters. Corporate titans sipping champagne (mixed with the tears of oppressed workers). And perhaps one thing most of all: big, beautiful, luxury homes.

But let’s get back to present-day reality. A million bucks, however impressive a sum, is no longer synonymous with mansions, or even particularly high-end housing, in much of the country. In fact, there’s now a huge discrepancy in what you can get for a tidy seven-figure price tag across the United States. In Atlanta, it could indeed net you a gigantic mansion in the exclusive suburbs. But in San Francisco, a seven-figure check barely gets you a compact condo with one bathroom.

One thing’s for sure: With a housing shortage steadily pushing prices higher, the share of homes listed for $1 million and over is steadily on the rise. It increased from 3.2% to 4.3% from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2017.

In large swaths of the country, a cool million has mostly come to represent the new standard for good, upper-middle-class housing. “In more markets than ever before, the million-dollar mark is the new benchmark for that green lawn and white picket fence,” says Javier Vivas, manager of the realtor.com® economic research team.

So where are the markets for million-dollar homes growing the fastest?

To find out, our data team ranked more than 900 metropolitan areas. For each metro, we compared the percentage of homes that cost upward of $1 million in the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2014, to see how they’d changed over the past three years.

Our emphasis was on growth, not just luxury. So to rule out metros that were already uber-wealthy—resort towns like Aspen, CO, or go-go urban meccas like San Francisco—we filtered out markets that already had more than 10% of million-dollar listings in 2014. For geographical diversity, we also limited our list to two metros in every state.

Million-dollar questions. Million-dollar babies. Million. Dollar. Listings. So where can you find the most new members of housing’s million-dollar club? Grab your checkbook, and let’s take a look.

1. Denver, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 3.3% Million-dollar growth: 6.1%

The blazing-hot housing market in Denver is pushing middle-class homes into a price category not long ago reserved for luxury estates. Nearly 1 in 10 homes in metro Denver was listed for more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2017.

What’s making it happen? “The secret is out that Denver is a wonderful place to live,” says Jeff Plous, a local real estate agent from One Realty. A booming tech scene, gorgeous scenery with plenty of outdoor recreation possibilities, and yep, even legalized recreational marijuana have conspired to make Denver the new place to be.

“Lots of Californians are moving here,” Pious says. “They sold their homes for multi-million dollars, bought another one here for $1 million, and still have plenty of cash left in the bank.”

Neighborhoods south and east of downtown are packed with big-ticket single-family homes, ranging from $1 million to $10 million. Until recently, neighborhoods in the northwest of the city, where humble bungalows house working-class families, remained surprisingly affordable. But as ever-rising tides of young professionals flood in, flyers offering to buy homes for cash have proliferated, and million-dollar custom homes with high-end finishes are selling faster than discounted Rocky Mountain oysters.

2. Santa Rosa, CA Picturesque downtown Santa Rosa, CA

John Elk/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.1% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 8.1% Million-dollar growth: 6%

As housing refugees from San Francisco flood the market of Santa Rosa, one hour to the north, the local home prices are skyrocketing. The rise in million-dollar listings in this wine country hamlet has been slowly building for the past five years, but the steady drip has become a torrent now, due to the booming tech biz.

“We have a lot of people who work remotely, or they go to the office twice a week,” says real estate agent Kimberly Sethavanish from Kimberly James Real Estate. “They’d rather live here and have a little bit more land than [buy] a 800-square-foot house in the city” of San Francisco.

Gorgeous country estates at the foot of the Sonoma Mountains abound in metro Santa Rosa. High-end buyers value large homes and lots, stunning vistas, and loads of privacy, all within a short drive of downtown.

Wealthy retirees from across the San Francisco Bay Area often relocate to Santa Rosa for an active lifestyle. Sitting in a bucolic region ideal for biking and hiking, Santa Rosa is also a short drive away from the wineries of Sonoma and Napa counties, and from 17 miles of gorgeous coastline.

3. Boulder, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9% Million-dollar growth: 5.7%

Known for its pristine natural surroundings—Flatiron Mountains, lush forest, and crystal-clear creeks—Boulder is a small mountain town with big price tags. Wealthy buyers who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle plunk down millions for fine residences, including posh country homes, contemporary ranches, and mountain-view retreats. Urbanites settle down in remodeled mansions near downtown, with quick access to craft breweries and farm-to-table restaurants.

But when locals talk about million-dollar homes, these days they’re likely to be referring to regular middle-class abodes. Boulder’s seven-figure real estate market has been on an incredible tear in recent years, as the city struggles with a lack of available housing in the midst of a tech boom. Boulder is home to dozens of start-ups and major outposts of corporate giants like Google and Microsoft, and it’s running out of land to build new homes.

4. Truckee, CA Truckee, CA

Witold Skrypczak/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 12.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 7.1% Million-dollar growth: 5.3%

For generations, the Lake Tahoe region has been a favorite vacation spot for Northern Californians, with world-class skiing in winter and water activities and gorgeous hiking in summer. A lakefront property used to represent the apex of luxury, but increasingly, wealthy buyers are drawn to new communities with top-flight amenities in Truckee, just north of the lake.

Martis Camp, a luxury community that boasts tournament-standard golf courses and a private high-speed lift to the Northstar ski resort, leads in luxe home values with a median list price of $3.5 million. Even the cheapest home there lists for $1.8 million. Similar communities, where homes feature modern design and acre lots, have also seen explosive growth in the million-plus-dollar segment.

5. Fredericksburg, TX Downtown Fredericksburg, TX, often called “Fritztown” because of its German history

Chris Litherland/Wikipedia CC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 13.6% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.9%

Located in central Texas, this is a town of ruggedly beautiful terrain, scattered live oaks, and tall grass prairie. In the region dubbed the Texas Hill Country, the latest wave of settlers are wealthy transplants seeking a picturesque place to retire that’s also within distance of urban amenities. Big city life is just an hour and a half away—Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south.

“You get easy access to urban life, yet you don’t have to live in the San Antonio ’burbs,” says real estate agent Amy Patrick with Keller Williams City View. “Here we have the river, lots of great little places to eat, and local shopping boutiques.”

The moneyed class is typically looking for 100-plus-acre “recreational ranches” where residents can enjoy hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Aside from the strong cowboy vibe, there are plenty more cosmopolitan cultural offerings, like museums, theaters, art galleries, and numerous festivals all year.

Fun fact: Fredericksburg has the highest share of millionaire households in Texas—they make up nearly 6.5% of its population, according to the wealth research firm Phoenix Marketing International.

6. Heber, UT

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 10.5% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.7%

Located in a beautiful valley outside Salt Lake City, two peaceful mountain towns—Heber City and Midway—have become the newest regional hot spots for premium real estate. You dig outdoor activities? These are dream locales.

Only 20 minutes south of the better-known resort town of Park City, Heber’s million-dollar home market is expanding every bit as quickly as Park City moves farther out of reach. The same $1 million that buys you a mountain villa in Heber is barely enough for a ski cabin in Park City.

Ritzy communities have sprouted all over the Heber Valley, offering amenities designed to appeal to the elite.

“The Heber and Midway area is where a big chunk of the future growth is,” says real estate consultant David Lawson from Engel & Volkers. “When people come to Park City and look at what their money gets them, these towns get all the more attractive.”

7. Boston, MA

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.9% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.1%

Hey, what the heck is blue-blooded Boston—certainly no stranger to luxury dwellings—doing on this list of newbie million-dollar homes? While it’s true that Louisburg Square and Beacon Hill have no shortage of red-brick townhouses fetching $10 million or more, there’s new growth far from such trophy addresses, or those in wealthy suburbs like Brookline. An epic building boom in recent years has added thousands more luxury housing units, mostly apartments, in every corner of this town.

Ambitious developers have shoehorned glaringly modern, glassy apartments into neighborhoods of historic row houses. In the gloriously expensive South End and West End, condo units with custom cabinetry and 16-inch-deep cast-iron tubs range from $1 million to $2 million. Occasionally, you’ll come across a single-family home, but they usually start at $3 million.

Even perennially working-class neighborhoods like South Boston have seen a budding market for million-dollar homes.

8. Seattle, WA Downtown Seattle, WA

bluejayphoto/iStock

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 5.3% Million-dollar growth: 2.4%

As Seattle’s population of the “tech wealthy” and “global affluent” is on the rise, seven-figure homes are becoming the norm. Good deals are snapped up fast, virtually citywide.

Even once unimpressive neighborhoods like Ballard and Delridge have also seen dramatic shifts of late. Bungalows have been torn down to make room for new development. Newly constructed luxury condos and renovated century-old homes are proving extremely popular, thanks to their proximity to downtown and high-tech employers.

9. Santa Fe, NM

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 11.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.4% Million-dollar growth: 2.3%

If down-to-earth Santa Fe doesn’t strike you as a luxe market, check out designer Tom Ford’s $75-million ranch, which went on the market last year. Like Ford, many who own high-end homes in Santa Fe don’t live here full-time. They are vacationers or retirees who are attracted to the city’s renowned galleries, clear skies, and easy access to national forests.

The juniper-covered hills northwest of town are dotted with spacious estates with million-dollar price tags—ensuring privacy and panoramic views. Buyers often spot ranch-style haciendas that come with sprawling acreage for horseback riding, or gated adobes that honor authentic Pueblo-Spanish architecture.

10. Charleston, SC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 4.9% Million-dollar growth: 2.1%

Beaches, mild weather, and beautiful historic homes—Charleston checks almost every box for a perfect place to buy a second home. And that’s why this old-world city has never fallen out of fashion among business moguls and celebs.

But lately it’s been the new-money class, many of whose members work in the city’s fast-growing tech game, fueling the upper-end real-estate boom. Developers have embarked on a new construction frenzy on the waterfront—many are tearing down old properties and building brand-new luxury ones.

“Charleston is sophisticated, artistic, and has incredible food,” says Thomas Bennett, a Realtor with Carriage Properties. “If you want to buy a nice second home on the coast between New York and Florida, this is it.”

Sullivan’s Island, about 15-minute drive from downtown, is a beloved spot to buy a lavish second (or fifth) home. Beach homes are built with broad piazzas and high ceilings to catch sea breezes. Only four homes on Sullivan’s Island are on sale for less than a million. Act fast!

The post Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed

bluejayphoto/iStock; realtor.com

Time was, a million dollars seemed to evoke so much to everyday Americans. Swanky vacations in the French Riviera. Bespoke suits and garages filled with Bentleys and Mercedes-Benz roadsters. Corporate titans sipping champagne (mixed with the tears of oppressed workers). And perhaps one thing most of all: big, beautiful, luxury homes.

But let’s get back to present-day reality. A million bucks, however impressive a sum, is no longer synonymous with mansions, or even particularly high-end housing, in much of the country. In fact, there’s now a huge discrepancy in what you can get for a tidy seven-figure price tag across the United States. In Atlanta, it could indeed net you a gigantic mansion in the exclusive suburbs. But in San Francisco, a seven-figure check barely gets you a compact condo with one bathroom.

One thing’s for sure: With a housing shortage steadily pushing prices higher, the share of homes listed for $1 million and over is steadily on the rise. It increased from 3.2% to 4.3% from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2017.

In large swaths of the country, a cool million has mostly come to represent the new standard for good, upper-middle-class housing. “In more markets than ever before, the million-dollar mark is the new benchmark for that green lawn and white picket fence,” says Javier Vivas, manager of the realtor.com® economic research team.

So where are the markets for million-dollar homes growing the fastest?

To find out, our data team ranked more than 900 metropolitan areas. For each metro, we compared the percentage of homes that cost upward of $1 million in the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2014, to see how they’d changed over the past three years.

Our emphasis was on growth, not just luxury. So to rule out metros that were already uber-wealthy—resort towns like Aspen, CO, or go-go urban meccas like San Francisco—we filtered out markets that already had more than 10% of million-dollar listings in 2014. For geographical diversity, we also limited our list to two metros in every state.

Million-dollar questions. Million-dollar babies. Million. Dollar. Listings. So where can you find the most new members of housing’s million-dollar club? Grab your checkbook, and let’s take a look.

1. Denver, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 3.3% Million-dollar growth: 6.1%

The blazing-hot housing market in Denver is pushing middle-class homes into a price category not long ago reserved for luxury estates. Nearly 1 in 10 homes in metro Denver was listed for more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2017.

What’s making it happen? “The secret is out that Denver is a wonderful place to live,” says Jeff Plous, a local real estate agent from One Realty. A booming tech scene, gorgeous scenery with plenty of outdoor recreation possibilities, and yep, even legalized recreational marijuana have conspired to make Denver the new place to be.

“Lots of Californians are moving here,” Pious says. “They sold their homes for multi-million dollars, bought another one here for $1 million, and still have plenty of cash left in the bank.”

Neighborhoods south and east of downtown are packed with big-ticket single-family homes, ranging from $1 million to $10 million. Until recently, neighborhoods in the northwest of the city, where humble bungalows house working-class families, remained surprisingly affordable. But as ever-rising tides of young professionals flood in, flyers offering to buy homes for cash have proliferated, and million-dollar custom homes with high-end finishes are selling faster than discounted Rocky Mountain oysters.

2. Santa Rosa, CA Picturesque downtown Santa Rosa, CA

John Elk/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.1% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 8.1% Million-dollar growth: 6%

As housing refugees from San Francisco flood the market of Santa Rosa, one hour to the north, the local home prices are skyrocketing. The rise in million-dollar listings in this wine country hamlet has been slowly building for the past five years, but the steady drip has become a torrent now, due to the booming tech biz.

“We have a lot of people who work remotely, or they go to the office twice a week,” says real estate agent Kimberly Sethavanish from Kimberly James Real Estate. “They’d rather live here and have a little bit more land than [buy] a 800-square-foot house in the city” of San Francisco.

Gorgeous country estates at the foot of the Sonoma Mountains abound in metro Santa Rosa. High-end buyers value large homes and lots, stunning vistas, and loads of privacy, all within a short drive of downtown.

Wealthy retirees from across the San Francisco Bay Area often relocate to Santa Rosa for an active lifestyle. Sitting in a bucolic region ideal for biking and hiking, Santa Rosa is also a short drive away from the wineries of Sonoma and Napa counties, and from 17 miles of gorgeous coastline.

3. Boulder, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9% Million-dollar growth: 5.7%

Known for its pristine natural surroundings—Flatiron Mountains, lush forest, and crystal-clear creeks—Boulder is a small mountain town with big price tags. Wealthy buyers who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle plunk down millions for fine residences, including posh country homes, contemporary ranches, and mountain-view retreats. Urbanites settle down in remodeled mansions near downtown, with quick access to craft breweries and farm-to-table restaurants.

But when locals talk about million-dollar homes, these days they’re likely to be referring to regular middle-class abodes. Boulder’s seven-figure real estate market has been on an incredible tear in recent years, as the city struggles with a lack of available housing in the midst of a tech boom. Boulder is home to dozens of start-ups and major outposts of corporate giants like Google and Microsoft, and it’s running out of land to build new homes.

4. Truckee, CA Truckee, CA

Witold Skrypczak/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 12.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 7.1% Million-dollar growth: 5.3%

For generations, the Lake Tahoe region has been a favorite vacation spot for Northern Californians, with world-class skiing in winter and water activities and gorgeous hiking in summer. A lakefront property used to represent the apex of luxury, but increasingly, wealthy buyers are drawn to new communities with top-flight amenities in Truckee, just north of the lake.

Martis Camp, a luxury community that boasts tournament-standard golf courses and a private high-speed lift to the Northstar ski resort, leads in luxe home values with a median list price of $3.5 million. Even the cheapest home there lists for $1.8 million. Similar communities, where homes feature modern design and acre lots, have also seen explosive growth in the million-plus-dollar segment.

5. Fredericksburg, TX Downtown Fredericksburg, TX, often called “Fritztown” because of its German history

Chris Litherland/Wikipedia CC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 13.6% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.9%

Located in central Texas, this is a town of ruggedly beautiful terrain, scattered live oaks, and tall grass prairie. In the region dubbed the Texas Hill Country, the latest wave of settlers are wealthy transplants seeking a picturesque place to retire that’s also within distance of urban amenities. Big city life is just an hour and a half away—Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south.

“You get easy access to urban life, yet you don’t have to live in the San Antonio ’burbs,” says real estate agent Amy Patrick with Keller Williams City View. “Here we have the river, lots of great little places to eat, and local shopping boutiques.”

The moneyed class is typically looking for 100-plus-acre “recreational ranches” where residents can enjoy hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Aside from the strong cowboy vibe, there are plenty more cosmopolitan cultural offerings, like museums, theaters, art galleries, and numerous festivals all year.

Fun fact: Fredericksburg has the highest share of millionaire households in Texas—they make up nearly 6.5% of its population, according to the wealth research firm Phoenix Marketing International.

6. Heber, UT

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 10.5% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.7%

Located in a beautiful valley outside Salt Lake City, two peaceful mountain towns—Heber City and Midway—have become the newest regional hot spots for premium real estate. You dig outdoor activities? These are dream locales.

Only 20 minutes south of the better-known resort town of Park City, Heber’s million-dollar home market is expanding every bit as quickly as Park City moves farther out of reach. The same $1 million that buys you a mountain villa in Heber is barely enough for a ski cabin in Park City.

Ritzy communities have sprouted all over the Heber Valley, offering amenities designed to appeal to the elite.

“The Heber and Midway area is where a big chunk of the future growth is,” says real estate consultant David Lawson from Engel & Volkers. “When people come to Park City and look at what their money gets them, these towns get all the more attractive.”

7. Boston, MA

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.9% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.1%

Hey, what the heck is blue-blooded Boston—certainly no stranger to luxury dwellings—doing on this list of newbie million-dollar homes? While it’s true that Louisburg Square and Beacon Hill have no shortage of red-brick townhouses fetching $10 million or more, there’s new growth far from such trophy addresses, or those in wealthy suburbs like Brookline. An epic building boom in recent years has added thousands more luxury housing units, mostly apartments, in every corner of this town.

Ambitious developers have shoehorned glaringly modern, glassy apartments into neighborhoods of historic row houses. In the gloriously expensive South End and West End, condo units with custom cabinetry and 16-inch-deep cast-iron tubs range from $1 million to $2 million. Occasionally, you’ll come across a single-family home, but they usually start at $3 million.

Even perennially working-class neighborhoods like South Boston have seen a budding market for million-dollar homes.

8. Seattle, WA Downtown Seattle, WA

bluejayphoto/iStock

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 5.3% Million-dollar growth: 2.4%

As Seattle’s population of the “tech wealthy” and “global affluent” is on the rise, seven-figure homes are becoming the norm. Good deals are snapped up fast, virtually citywide.

Even once unimpressive neighborhoods like Ballard and Delridge have also seen dramatic shifts of late. Bungalows have been torn down to make room for new development. Newly constructed luxury condos and renovated century-old homes are proving extremely popular, thanks to their proximity to downtown and high-tech employers.

9. Santa Fe, NM

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 11.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.4% Million-dollar growth: 2.3%

If down-to-earth Santa Fe doesn’t strike you as a luxe market, check out designer Tom Ford’s $75-million ranch, which went on the market last year. Like Ford, many who own high-end homes in Santa Fe don’t live here full-time. They are vacationers or retirees who are attracted to the city’s renowned galleries, clear skies, and easy access to national forests.

The juniper-covered hills northwest of town are dotted with spacious estates with million-dollar price tags—ensuring privacy and panoramic views. Buyers often spot ranch-style haciendas that come with sprawling acreage for horseback riding, or gated adobes that honor authentic Pueblo-Spanish architecture.

10. Charleston, SC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 4.9% Million-dollar growth: 2.1%

Beaches, mild weather, and beautiful historic homes—Charleston checks almost every box for a perfect place to buy a second home. And that’s why this old-world city has never fallen out of fashion among business moguls and celebs.

But lately it’s been the new-money class, many of whose members work in the city’s fast-growing tech game, fueling the upper-end real-estate boom. Developers have embarked on a new construction frenzy on the waterfront—many are tearing down old properties and building brand-new luxury ones.

“Charleston is sophisticated, artistic, and has incredible food,” says Thomas Bennett, a Realtor with Carriage Properties. “If you want to buy a nice second home on the coast between New York and Florida, this is it.”

Sullivan’s Island, about 15-minute drive from downtown, is a beloved spot to buy a lavish second (or fifth) home. Beach homes are built with broad piazzas and high ceilings to catch sea breezes. Only four homes on Sullivan’s Island are on sale for less than a million. Act fast!

The post Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed

bluejayphoto/iStock; realtor.com

Time was, a million dollars seemed to evoke so much to everyday Americans. Swanky vacations in the French Riviera. Bespoke suits and garages filled with Bentleys and Mercedes-Benz roadsters. Corporate titans sipping champagne (mixed with the tears of oppressed workers). And perhaps one thing most of all: big, beautiful, luxury homes.

But let’s get back to present-day reality. A million bucks, however impressive a sum, is no longer synonymous with mansions, or even particularly high-end housing, in much of the country. In fact, there’s now a huge discrepancy in what you can get for a tidy seven-figure price tag across the United States. In Atlanta, it could indeed net you a gigantic mansion in the exclusive suburbs. But in San Francisco, a seven-figure check barely gets you a compact condo with one bathroom.

One thing’s for sure: With a housing shortage steadily pushing prices higher, the share of homes listed for $1 million and over is steadily on the rise. It increased from 3.2% to 4.3% from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2017.

In large swaths of the country, a cool million has mostly come to represent the new standard for good, upper-middle-class housing. “In more markets than ever before, the million-dollar mark is the new benchmark for that green lawn and white picket fence,” says Javier Vivas, manager of the realtor.com® economic research team.

So where are the markets for million-dollar homes growing the fastest?

To find out, our data team ranked more than 900 metropolitan areas. For each metro, we compared the percentage of homes that cost upward of $1 million in the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2014, to see how they’d changed over the past three years.

Our emphasis was on growth, not just luxury. So to rule out metros that were already uber-wealthy—resort towns like Aspen, CO, or go-go urban meccas like San Francisco—we filtered out markets that already had more than 10% of million-dollar listings in 2014. For geographical diversity, we also limited our list to two metros in every state.

Million-dollar questions. Million-dollar babies. Million. Dollar. Listings. So where can you find the most new members of housing’s million-dollar club? Grab your checkbook, and let’s take a look.

1. Denver, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 3.3% Million-dollar growth: 6.1%

The blazing-hot housing market in Denver is pushing middle-class homes into a price category not long ago reserved for luxury estates. Nearly 1 in 10 homes in metro Denver was listed for more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2017.

What’s making it happen? “The secret is out that Denver is a wonderful place to live,” says Jeff Plous, a local real estate agent from One Realty. A booming tech scene, gorgeous scenery with plenty of outdoor recreation possibilities, and yep, even legalized recreational marijuana have conspired to make Denver the new place to be.

“Lots of Californians are moving here,” Pious says. “They sold their homes for multi-million dollars, bought another one here for $1 million, and still have plenty of cash left in the bank.”

Neighborhoods south and east of downtown are packed with big-ticket single-family homes, ranging from $1 million to $10 million. Until recently, neighborhoods in the northwest of the city, where humble bungalows house working-class families, remained surprisingly affordable. But as ever-rising tides of young professionals flood in, flyers offering to buy homes for cash have proliferated, and million-dollar custom homes with high-end finishes are selling faster than discounted Rocky Mountain oysters.

2. Santa Rosa, CA Picturesque downtown Santa Rosa, CA

John Elk/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.1% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 8.1% Million-dollar growth: 6%

As housing refugees from San Francisco flood the market of Santa Rosa, one hour to the north, the local home prices are skyrocketing. The rise in million-dollar listings in this wine country hamlet has been slowly building for the past five years, but the steady drip has become a torrent now, due to the booming tech biz.

“We have a lot of people who work remotely, or they go to the office twice a week,” says real estate agent Kimberly Sethavanish from Kimberly James Real Estate. “They’d rather live here and have a little bit more land than [buy] a 800-square-foot house in the city” of San Francisco.

Gorgeous country estates at the foot of the Sonoma Mountains abound in metro Santa Rosa. High-end buyers value large homes and lots, stunning vistas, and loads of privacy, all within a short drive of downtown.

Wealthy retirees from across the San Francisco Bay Area often relocate to Santa Rosa for an active lifestyle. Sitting in a bucolic region ideal for biking and hiking, Santa Rosa is also a short drive away from the wineries of Sonoma and Napa counties, and from 17 miles of gorgeous coastline.

3. Boulder, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9% Million-dollar growth: 5.7%

Known for its pristine natural surroundings—Flatiron Mountains, lush forest, and crystal-clear creeks—Boulder is a small mountain town with big price tags. Wealthy buyers who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle plunk down millions for fine residences, including posh country homes, contemporary ranches, and mountain-view retreats. Urbanites settle down in remodeled mansions near downtown, with quick access to craft breweries and farm-to-table restaurants.

But when locals talk about million-dollar homes, these days they’re likely to be referring to regular middle-class abodes. Boulder’s seven-figure real estate market has been on an incredible tear in recent years, as the city struggles with a lack of available housing in the midst of a tech boom. Boulder is home to dozens of start-ups and major outposts of corporate giants like Google and Microsoft, and it’s running out of land to build new homes.

4. Truckee, CA Truckee, CA

Witold Skrypczak/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 12.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 7.1% Million-dollar growth: 5.3%

For generations, the Lake Tahoe region has been a favorite vacation spot for Northern Californians, with world-class skiing in winter and water activities and gorgeous hiking in summer. A lakefront property used to represent the apex of luxury, but increasingly, wealthy buyers are drawn to new communities with top-flight amenities in Truckee, just north of the lake.

Martis Camp, a luxury community that boasts tournament-standard golf courses and a private high-speed lift to the Northstar ski resort, leads in luxe home values with a median list price of $3.5 million. Even the cheapest home there lists for $1.8 million. Similar communities, where homes feature modern design and acre lots, have also seen explosive growth in the million-plus-dollar segment.

5. Fredericksburg, TX Downtown Fredericksburg, TX, often called “Fritztown” because of its German history

Chris Litherland/Wikipedia CC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 13.6% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.9%

Located in central Texas, this is a town of ruggedly beautiful terrain, scattered live oaks, and tall grass prairie. In the region dubbed the Texas Hill Country, the latest wave of settlers are wealthy transplants seeking a picturesque place to retire that’s also within distance of urban amenities. Big city life is just an hour and a half away—Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south.

“You get easy access to urban life, yet you don’t have to live in the San Antonio ’burbs,” says real estate agent Amy Patrick with Keller Williams City View. “Here we have the river, lots of great little places to eat, and local shopping boutiques.”

The moneyed class is typically looking for 100-plus-acre “recreational ranches” where residents can enjoy hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Aside from the strong cowboy vibe, there are plenty more cosmopolitan cultural offerings, like museums, theaters, art galleries, and numerous festivals all year.

Fun fact: Fredericksburg has the highest share of millionaire households in Texas—they make up nearly 6.5% of its population, according to the wealth research firm Phoenix Marketing International.

6. Heber, UT

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 10.5% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.7%

Located in a beautiful valley outside Salt Lake City, two peaceful mountain towns—Heber City and Midway—have become the newest regional hot spots for premium real estate. You dig outdoor activities? These are dream locales.

Only 20 minutes south of the better-known resort town of Park City, Heber’s million-dollar home market is expanding every bit as quickly as Park City moves farther out of reach. The same $1 million that buys you a mountain villa in Heber is barely enough for a ski cabin in Park City.

Ritzy communities have sprouted all over the Heber Valley, offering amenities designed to appeal to the elite.

“The Heber and Midway area is where a big chunk of the future growth is,” says real estate consultant David Lawson from Engel & Volkers. “When people come to Park City and look at what their money gets them, these towns get all the more attractive.”

7. Boston, MA

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.9% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.1%

Hey, what the heck is blue-blooded Boston—certainly no stranger to luxury dwellings—doing on this list of newbie million-dollar homes? While it’s true that Louisburg Square and Beacon Hill have no shortage of red-brick townhouses fetching $10 million or more, there’s new growth far from such trophy addresses, or those in wealthy suburbs like Brookline. An epic building boom in recent years has added thousands more luxury housing units, mostly apartments, in every corner of this town.

Ambitious developers have shoehorned glaringly modern, glassy apartments into neighborhoods of historic row houses. In the gloriously expensive South End and West End, condo units with custom cabinetry and 16-inch-deep cast-iron tubs range from $1 million to $2 million. Occasionally, you’ll come across a single-family home, but they usually start at $3 million.

Even perennially working-class neighborhoods like South Boston have seen a budding market for million-dollar homes.

8. Seattle, WA Downtown Seattle, WA

bluejayphoto/iStock

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 5.3% Million-dollar growth: 2.4%

As Seattle’s population of the “tech wealthy” and “global affluent” is on the rise, seven-figure homes are becoming the norm. Good deals are snapped up fast, virtually citywide.

Even once unimpressive neighborhoods like Ballard and Delridge have also seen dramatic shifts of late. Bungalows have been torn down to make room for new development. Newly constructed luxury condos and renovated century-old homes are proving extremely popular, thanks to their proximity to downtown and high-tech employers.

9. Santa Fe, NM

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 11.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.4% Million-dollar growth: 2.3%

If down-to-earth Santa Fe doesn’t strike you as a luxe market, check out designer Tom Ford’s $75-million ranch, which went on the market last year. Like Ford, many who own high-end homes in Santa Fe don’t live here full-time. They are vacationers or retirees who are attracted to the city’s renowned galleries, clear skies, and easy access to national forests.

The juniper-covered hills northwest of town are dotted with spacious estates with million-dollar price tags—ensuring privacy and panoramic views. Buyers often spot ranch-style haciendas that come with sprawling acreage for horseback riding, or gated adobes that honor authentic Pueblo-Spanish architecture.

10. Charleston, SC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 4.9% Million-dollar growth: 2.1%

Beaches, mild weather, and beautiful historic homes—Charleston checks almost every box for a perfect place to buy a second home. And that’s why this old-world city has never fallen out of fashion among business moguls and celebs.

But lately it’s been the new-money class, many of whose members work in the city’s fast-growing tech game, fueling the upper-end real-estate boom. Developers have embarked on a new construction frenzy on the waterfront—many are tearing down old properties and building brand-new luxury ones.

“Charleston is sophisticated, artistic, and has incredible food,” says Thomas Bennett, a Realtor with Carriage Properties. “If you want to buy a nice second home on the coast between New York and Florida, this is it.”

Sullivan’s Island, about 15-minute drive from downtown, is a beloved spot to buy a lavish second (or fifth) home. Beach homes are built with broad piazzas and high ceilings to catch sea breezes. Only four homes on Sullivan’s Island are on sale for less than a million. Act fast!

The post Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed

bluejayphoto/iStock; realtor.com

Time was, a million dollars seemed to evoke so much to everyday Americans. Swanky vacations in the French Riviera. Bespoke suits and garages filled with Bentleys and Mercedes-Benz roadsters. Corporate titans sipping champagne (mixed with the tears of oppressed workers). And perhaps one thing most of all: big, beautiful, luxury homes.

But let’s get back to present-day reality. A million bucks, however impressive a sum, is no longer synonymous with mansions, or even particularly high-end housing, in much of the country. In fact, there’s now a huge discrepancy in what you can get for a tidy seven-figure price tag across the United States. In Atlanta, it could indeed net you a gigantic mansion in the exclusive suburbs. But in San Francisco, a seven-figure check barely gets you a compact condo with one bathroom.

One thing’s for sure: With a housing shortage steadily pushing prices higher, the share of homes listed for $1 million and over is steadily on the rise. It increased from 3.2% to 4.3% from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2017.

In large swaths of the country, a cool million has mostly come to represent the new standard for good, upper-middle-class housing. “In more markets than ever before, the million-dollar mark is the new benchmark for that green lawn and white picket fence,” says Javier Vivas, manager of the realtor.com® economic research team.

So where are the markets for million-dollar homes growing the fastest?

To find out, our data team ranked more than 900 metropolitan areas. For each metro, we compared the percentage of homes that cost upward of $1 million in the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2014, to see how they’d changed over the past three years.

Our emphasis was on growth, not just luxury. So to rule out metros that were already uber-wealthy—resort towns like Aspen, CO, or go-go urban meccas like San Francisco—we filtered out markets that already had more than 10% of million-dollar listings in 2014. For geographical diversity, we also limited our list to two metros in every state.

Million-dollar questions. Million-dollar babies. Million. Dollar. Listings. So where can you find the most new members of housing’s million-dollar club? Grab your checkbook, and let’s take a look.

1. Denver, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 3.3% Million-dollar growth: 6.1%

The blazing-hot housing market in Denver is pushing middle-class homes into a price category not long ago reserved for luxury estates. Nearly 1 in 10 homes in metro Denver was listed for more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2017.

What’s making it happen? “The secret is out that Denver is a wonderful place to live,” says Jeff Plous, a local real estate agent from One Realty. A booming tech scene, gorgeous scenery with plenty of outdoor recreation possibilities, and yep, even legalized recreational marijuana have conspired to make Denver the new place to be.

“Lots of Californians are moving here,” Pious says. “They sold their homes for multi-million dollars, bought another one here for $1 million, and still have plenty of cash left in the bank.”

Neighborhoods south and east of downtown are packed with big-ticket single-family homes, ranging from $1 million to $10 million. Until recently, neighborhoods in the northwest of the city, where humble bungalows house working-class families, remained surprisingly affordable. But as ever-rising tides of young professionals flood in, flyers offering to buy homes for cash have proliferated, and million-dollar custom homes with high-end finishes are selling faster than discounted Rocky Mountain oysters.

2. Santa Rosa, CA Picturesque downtown Santa Rosa, CA

John Elk/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.1% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 8.1% Million-dollar growth: 6%

As housing refugees from San Francisco flood the market of Santa Rosa, one hour to the north, the local home prices are skyrocketing. The rise in million-dollar listings in this wine country hamlet has been slowly building for the past five years, but the steady drip has become a torrent now, due to the booming tech biz.

“We have a lot of people who work remotely, or they go to the office twice a week,” says real estate agent Kimberly Sethavanish from Kimberly James Real Estate. “They’d rather live here and have a little bit more land than [buy] a 800-square-foot house in the city” of San Francisco.

Gorgeous country estates at the foot of the Sonoma Mountains abound in metro Santa Rosa. High-end buyers value large homes and lots, stunning vistas, and loads of privacy, all within a short drive of downtown.

Wealthy retirees from across the San Francisco Bay Area often relocate to Santa Rosa for an active lifestyle. Sitting in a bucolic region ideal for biking and hiking, Santa Rosa is also a short drive away from the wineries of Sonoma and Napa counties, and from 17 miles of gorgeous coastline.

3. Boulder, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9% Million-dollar growth: 5.7%

Known for its pristine natural surroundings—Flatiron Mountains, lush forest, and crystal-clear creeks—Boulder is a small mountain town with big price tags. Wealthy buyers who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle plunk down millions for fine residences, including posh country homes, contemporary ranches, and mountain-view retreats. Urbanites settle down in remodeled mansions near downtown, with quick access to craft breweries and farm-to-table restaurants.

But when locals talk about million-dollar homes, these days they’re likely to be referring to regular middle-class abodes. Boulder’s seven-figure real estate market has been on an incredible tear in recent years, as the city struggles with a lack of available housing in the midst of a tech boom. Boulder is home to dozens of start-ups and major outposts of corporate giants like Google and Microsoft, and it’s running out of land to build new homes.

4. Truckee, CA Truckee, CA

Witold Skrypczak/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 12.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 7.1% Million-dollar growth: 5.3%

For generations, the Lake Tahoe region has been a favorite vacation spot for Northern Californians, with world-class skiing in winter and water activities and gorgeous hiking in summer. A lakefront property used to represent the apex of luxury, but increasingly, wealthy buyers are drawn to new communities with top-flight amenities in Truckee, just north of the lake.

Martis Camp, a luxury community that boasts tournament-standard golf courses and a private high-speed lift to the Northstar ski resort, leads in luxe home values with a median list price of $3.5 million. Even the cheapest home there lists for $1.8 million. Similar communities, where homes feature modern design and acre lots, have also seen explosive growth in the million-plus-dollar segment.

5. Fredericksburg, TX Downtown Fredericksburg, TX, often called “Fritztown” because of its German history

Chris Litherland/Wikipedia CC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 13.6% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.9%

Located in central Texas, this is a town of ruggedly beautiful terrain, scattered live oaks, and tall grass prairie. In the region dubbed the Texas Hill Country, the latest wave of settlers are wealthy transplants seeking a picturesque place to retire that’s also within distance of urban amenities. Big city life is just an hour and a half away—Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south.

“You get easy access to urban life, yet you don’t have to live in the San Antonio ’burbs,” says real estate agent Amy Patrick with Keller Williams City View. “Here we have the river, lots of great little places to eat, and local shopping boutiques.”

The moneyed class is typically looking for 100-plus-acre “recreational ranches” where residents can enjoy hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Aside from the strong cowboy vibe, there are plenty more cosmopolitan cultural offerings, like museums, theaters, art galleries, and numerous festivals all year.

Fun fact: Fredericksburg has the highest share of millionaire households in Texas—they make up nearly 6.5% of its population, according to the wealth research firm Phoenix Marketing International.

6. Heber, UT

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 10.5% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.7%

Located in a beautiful valley outside Salt Lake City, two peaceful mountain towns—Heber City and Midway—have become the newest regional hot spots for premium real estate. You dig outdoor activities? These are dream locales.

Only 20 minutes south of the better-known resort town of Park City, Heber’s million-dollar home market is expanding every bit as quickly as Park City moves farther out of reach. The same $1 million that buys you a mountain villa in Heber is barely enough for a ski cabin in Park City.

Ritzy communities have sprouted all over the Heber Valley, offering amenities designed to appeal to the elite.

“The Heber and Midway area is where a big chunk of the future growth is,” says real estate consultant David Lawson from Engel & Volkers. “When people come to Park City and look at what their money gets them, these towns get all the more attractive.”

7. Boston, MA

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.9% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.1%

Hey, what the heck is blue-blooded Boston—certainly no stranger to luxury dwellings—doing on this list of newbie million-dollar homes? While it’s true that Louisburg Square and Beacon Hill have no shortage of red-brick townhouses fetching $10 million or more, there’s new growth far from such trophy addresses, or those in wealthy suburbs like Brookline. An epic building boom in recent years has added thousands more luxury housing units, mostly apartments, in every corner of this town.

Ambitious developers have shoehorned glaringly modern, glassy apartments into neighborhoods of historic row houses. In the gloriously expensive South End and West End, condo units with custom cabinetry and 16-inch-deep cast-iron tubs range from $1 million to $2 million. Occasionally, you’ll come across a single-family home, but they usually start at $3 million.

Even perennially working-class neighborhoods like South Boston have seen a budding market for million-dollar homes.

8. Seattle, WA Downtown Seattle, WA

bluejayphoto/iStock

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 5.3% Million-dollar growth: 2.4%

As Seattle’s population of the “tech wealthy” and “global affluent” is on the rise, seven-figure homes are becoming the norm. Good deals are snapped up fast, virtually citywide.

Even once unimpressive neighborhoods like Ballard and Delridge have also seen dramatic shifts of late. Bungalows have been torn down to make room for new development. Newly constructed luxury condos and renovated century-old homes are proving extremely popular, thanks to their proximity to downtown and high-tech employers.

9. Santa Fe, NM

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 11.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.4% Million-dollar growth: 2.3%

If down-to-earth Santa Fe doesn’t strike you as a luxe market, check out designer Tom Ford’s $75-million ranch, which went on the market last year. Like Ford, many who own high-end homes in Santa Fe don’t live here full-time. They are vacationers or retirees who are attracted to the city’s renowned galleries, clear skies, and easy access to national forests.

The juniper-covered hills northwest of town are dotted with spacious estates with million-dollar price tags—ensuring privacy and panoramic views. Buyers often spot ranch-style haciendas that come with sprawling acreage for horseback riding, or gated adobes that honor authentic Pueblo-Spanish architecture.

10. Charleston, SC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 4.9% Million-dollar growth: 2.1%

Beaches, mild weather, and beautiful historic homes—Charleston checks almost every box for a perfect place to buy a second home. And that’s why this old-world city has never fallen out of fashion among business moguls and celebs.

But lately it’s been the new-money class, many of whose members work in the city’s fast-growing tech game, fueling the upper-end real-estate boom. Developers have embarked on a new construction frenzy on the waterfront—many are tearing down old properties and building brand-new luxury ones.

“Charleston is sophisticated, artistic, and has incredible food,” says Thomas Bennett, a Realtor with Carriage Properties. “If you want to buy a nice second home on the coast between New York and Florida, this is it.”

Sullivan’s Island, about 15-minute drive from downtown, is a beloved spot to buy a lavish second (or fifth) home. Beach homes are built with broad piazzas and high ceilings to catch sea breezes. Only four homes on Sullivan’s Island are on sale for less than a million. Act fast!

The post Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Million-Dollar Housing Boom: Cities Where Seven-Figure Listings Have Skyrocketed

bluejayphoto/iStock; realtor.com

Time was, a million dollars seemed to evoke so much to everyday Americans. Swanky vacations in the French Riviera. Bespoke suits and garages filled with Bentleys and Mercedes-Benz roadsters. Corporate titans sipping champagne (mixed with the tears of oppressed workers). And perhaps one thing most of all: big, beautiful, luxury homes.

But let’s get back to present-day reality. A million bucks, however impressive a sum, is no longer synonymous with mansions, or even particularly high-end housing, in much of the country. In fact, there’s now a huge discrepancy in what you can get for a tidy seven-figure price tag across the United States. In Atlanta, it could indeed net you a gigantic mansion in the exclusive suburbs. But in San Francisco, a seven-figure check barely gets you a compact condo with one bathroom.

One thing’s for sure: With a housing shortage steadily pushing prices higher, the share of homes listed for $1 million and over is steadily on the rise. It increased from 3.2% to 4.3% from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2017.

In large swaths of the country, a cool million has mostly come to represent the new standard for good, upper-middle-class housing. “In more markets than ever before, the million-dollar mark is the new benchmark for that green lawn and white picket fence,” says Javier Vivas, manager of the realtor.com® economic research team.

So where are the markets for million-dollar homes growing the fastest?

To find out, our data team ranked more than 900 metropolitan areas. For each metro, we compared the percentage of homes that cost upward of $1 million in the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2014, to see how they’d changed over the past three years.

Our emphasis was on growth, not just luxury. So to rule out metros that were already uber-wealthy—resort towns like Aspen, CO, or go-go urban meccas like San Francisco—we filtered out markets that already had more than 10% of million-dollar listings in 2014. For geographical diversity, we also limited our list to two metros in every state.

Million-dollar questions. Million-dollar babies. Million. Dollar. Listings. So where can you find the most new members of housing’s million-dollar club? Grab your checkbook, and let’s take a look.

1. Denver, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 3.3% Million-dollar growth: 6.1%

The blazing-hot housing market in Denver is pushing middle-class homes into a price category not long ago reserved for luxury estates. Nearly 1 in 10 homes in metro Denver was listed for more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2017.

What’s making it happen? “The secret is out that Denver is a wonderful place to live,” says Jeff Plous, a local real estate agent from One Realty. A booming tech scene, gorgeous scenery with plenty of outdoor recreation possibilities, and yep, even legalized recreational marijuana have conspired to make Denver the new place to be.

“Lots of Californians are moving here,” Pious says. “They sold their homes for multi-million dollars, bought another one here for $1 million, and still have plenty of cash left in the bank.”

Neighborhoods south and east of downtown are packed with big-ticket single-family homes, ranging from $1 million to $10 million. Until recently, neighborhoods in the northwest of the city, where humble bungalows house working-class families, remained surprisingly affordable. But as ever-rising tides of young professionals flood in, flyers offering to buy homes for cash have proliferated, and million-dollar custom homes with high-end finishes are selling faster than discounted Rocky Mountain oysters.

2. Santa Rosa, CA Picturesque downtown Santa Rosa, CA

John Elk/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.1% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 8.1% Million-dollar growth: 6%

As housing refugees from San Francisco flood the market of Santa Rosa, one hour to the north, the local home prices are skyrocketing. The rise in million-dollar listings in this wine country hamlet has been slowly building for the past five years, but the steady drip has become a torrent now, due to the booming tech biz.

“We have a lot of people who work remotely, or they go to the office twice a week,” says real estate agent Kimberly Sethavanish from Kimberly James Real Estate. “They’d rather live here and have a little bit more land than [buy] a 800-square-foot house in the city” of San Francisco.

Gorgeous country estates at the foot of the Sonoma Mountains abound in metro Santa Rosa. High-end buyers value large homes and lots, stunning vistas, and loads of privacy, all within a short drive of downtown.

Wealthy retirees from across the San Francisco Bay Area often relocate to Santa Rosa for an active lifestyle. Sitting in a bucolic region ideal for biking and hiking, Santa Rosa is also a short drive away from the wineries of Sonoma and Napa counties, and from 17 miles of gorgeous coastline.

3. Boulder, CO

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 14.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9% Million-dollar growth: 5.7%

Known for its pristine natural surroundings—Flatiron Mountains, lush forest, and crystal-clear creeks—Boulder is a small mountain town with big price tags. Wealthy buyers who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle plunk down millions for fine residences, including posh country homes, contemporary ranches, and mountain-view retreats. Urbanites settle down in remodeled mansions near downtown, with quick access to craft breweries and farm-to-table restaurants.

But when locals talk about million-dollar homes, these days they’re likely to be referring to regular middle-class abodes. Boulder’s seven-figure real estate market has been on an incredible tear in recent years, as the city struggles with a lack of available housing in the midst of a tech boom. Boulder is home to dozens of start-ups and major outposts of corporate giants like Google and Microsoft, and it’s running out of land to build new homes.

4. Truckee, CA Truckee, CA

Witold Skrypczak/Getty Images

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 12.4% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 7.1% Million-dollar growth: 5.3%

For generations, the Lake Tahoe region has been a favorite vacation spot for Northern Californians, with world-class skiing in winter and water activities and gorgeous hiking in summer. A lakefront property used to represent the apex of luxury, but increasingly, wealthy buyers are drawn to new communities with top-flight amenities in Truckee, just north of the lake.

Martis Camp, a luxury community that boasts tournament-standard golf courses and a private high-speed lift to the Northstar ski resort, leads in luxe home values with a median list price of $3.5 million. Even the cheapest home there lists for $1.8 million. Similar communities, where homes feature modern design and acre lots, have also seen explosive growth in the million-plus-dollar segment.

5. Fredericksburg, TX Downtown Fredericksburg, TX, often called “Fritztown” because of its German history

Chris Litherland/Wikipedia CC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 13.6% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.9%

Located in central Texas, this is a town of ruggedly beautiful terrain, scattered live oaks, and tall grass prairie. In the region dubbed the Texas Hill Country, the latest wave of settlers are wealthy transplants seeking a picturesque place to retire that’s also within distance of urban amenities. Big city life is just an hour and a half away—Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south.

“You get easy access to urban life, yet you don’t have to live in the San Antonio ’burbs,” says real estate agent Amy Patrick with Keller Williams City View. “Here we have the river, lots of great little places to eat, and local shopping boutiques.”

The moneyed class is typically looking for 100-plus-acre “recreational ranches” where residents can enjoy hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Aside from the strong cowboy vibe, there are plenty more cosmopolitan cultural offerings, like museums, theaters, art galleries, and numerous festivals all year.

Fun fact: Fredericksburg has the highest share of millionaire households in Texas—they make up nearly 6.5% of its population, according to the wealth research firm Phoenix Marketing International.

6. Heber, UT

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 10.5% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.7%

Located in a beautiful valley outside Salt Lake City, two peaceful mountain towns—Heber City and Midway—have become the newest regional hot spots for premium real estate. You dig outdoor activities? These are dream locales.

Only 20 minutes south of the better-known resort town of Park City, Heber’s million-dollar home market is expanding every bit as quickly as Park City moves farther out of reach. The same $1 million that buys you a mountain villa in Heber is barely enough for a ski cabin in Park City.

Ritzy communities have sprouted all over the Heber Valley, offering amenities designed to appeal to the elite.

“The Heber and Midway area is where a big chunk of the future growth is,” says real estate consultant David Lawson from Engel & Volkers. “When people come to Park City and look at what their money gets them, these towns get all the more attractive.”

7. Boston, MA

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 9.9% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 6.8% Million-dollar growth: 3.1%

Hey, what the heck is blue-blooded Boston—certainly no stranger to luxury dwellings—doing on this list of newbie million-dollar homes? While it’s true that Louisburg Square and Beacon Hill have no shortage of red-brick townhouses fetching $10 million or more, there’s new growth far from such trophy addresses, or those in wealthy suburbs like Brookline. An epic building boom in recent years has added thousands more luxury housing units, mostly apartments, in every corner of this town.

Ambitious developers have shoehorned glaringly modern, glassy apartments into neighborhoods of historic row houses. In the gloriously expensive South End and West End, condo units with custom cabinetry and 16-inch-deep cast-iron tubs range from $1 million to $2 million. Occasionally, you’ll come across a single-family home, but they usually start at $3 million.

Even perennially working-class neighborhoods like South Boston have seen a budding market for million-dollar homes.

8. Seattle, WA Downtown Seattle, WA

bluejayphoto/iStock

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 5.3% Million-dollar growth: 2.4%

As Seattle’s population of the “tech wealthy” and “global affluent” is on the rise, seven-figure homes are becoming the norm. Good deals are snapped up fast, virtually citywide.

Even once unimpressive neighborhoods like Ballard and Delridge have also seen dramatic shifts of late. Bungalows have been torn down to make room for new development. Newly constructed luxury condos and renovated century-old homes are proving extremely popular, thanks to their proximity to downtown and high-tech employers.

9. Santa Fe, NM

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 11.7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 9.4% Million-dollar growth: 2.3%

If down-to-earth Santa Fe doesn’t strike you as a luxe market, check out designer Tom Ford’s $75-million ranch, which went on the market last year. Like Ford, many who own high-end homes in Santa Fe don’t live here full-time. They are vacationers or retirees who are attracted to the city’s renowned galleries, clear skies, and easy access to national forests.

The juniper-covered hills northwest of town are dotted with spacious estates with million-dollar price tags—ensuring privacy and panoramic views. Buyers often spot ranch-style haciendas that come with sprawling acreage for horseback riding, or gated adobes that honor authentic Pueblo-Spanish architecture.

10. Charleston, SC

Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2017: 7% Share of $1 million-plus homes in 2014: 4.9% Million-dollar growth: 2.1%

Beaches, mild weather, and beautiful historic homes—Charleston checks almost every box for a perfect place to buy a second home. And that’s why this old-world city has never fallen out of fashion among business moguls and celebs.

But lately it’s been the new-money class, many of whose members work in the city’s fast-growing tech game, fueling the upper-end real-estate boom. Developers have embarked on a new construction frenzy on the waterfront—many are tearing down old properties and building brand-new luxury ones.

“Charleston is sophisticated, artistic, and has incredible food,” says Thomas Bennett, a Realtor with Carriage Properties. “If you want to buy a nice second home on the coast between New York and Florida, this is it.”

Sullivan’s Island, about 15-minute drive from downtown, is a beloved spot to buy a lavish second (or fifth) home. Beach homes are built with broad piazzas and high ceilings to catch sea breezes. Only four homes on Sullivan’s Island are on sale for less than a million. Act fast!

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