Christie’s International Real Estate released its 2026 Global Luxury Perspectives report last month, the annual publication that tracks high-end residential conditions across the United States and key international markets. The headline figure is the Prime Sentiment Index reading of 14.4 — a forward-looking composite that combines buyer demand, price expectations, and inventory conditions. The 2025 reading was 15.6. Any PSI value above zero indicates improving conditions.
The component breakdown tells the story with more precision than the composite. Buyer demand fell from 37.7 to 29.3, the largest single-component shift in this year’s survey. Price outlook rose from 13.8 to 14.0 — a small move, but directionally important, indicating that the agents and brokers Christie’s surveyed expect 2026 to close with positive price appreciation. Inventory pressure eased across tracked markets. Christie’s reads those three movements together as a soft transition to equilibrium.
Three structural drivers account for the 2026 conditions. Mortgage rates have settled in the high-five to low-six range — no longer shocking the market, but still filtering out the second-home and trade-up buyer. New construction completions are arriving in Florida, Hawaii, and Western ski markets after a development lag that followed the pandemic demand surge. International capital above $10 million has shifted toward Dubai and Singapore and away from Aspen and the Hamptons, reflecting tax-efficiency and political-stability considerations.
US Market Scorecard
Naples, Florida registered the largest US decline in Christie’s 2026 breakdown, followed by Vail Valley. Both markets overshot on price during the 2020-to-2022 lifestyle migration and are now absorbing the supply response. The Hamptons held flat — its positioning as a New York City secondary market insulates it somewhat from the pure resort-lifestyle dynamic. New York City improved on every PSI component. The trophy-condo tier posted the clearest price appreciation of any US market tracked.
International Market Scorecard
Mexico City and Lisbon posted the strongest international improvement in the 2026 survey, reflecting growing high-net-worth demand from North American and European buyers. Dubai and Singapore dominated the cross-border segment above $10 million. London and Paris were flat for the second year running. Christie’s affiliated brokers across markets are holding trophy asking prices, reporting tighter bid-ask spreads, and seeing stable close rates.
The October PSI update will incorporate Q3 transaction data. The broker network’s early intelligence suggests that data will support rather than complicate the equilibrium framing Christie’s has applied to 2026.
Source: Christie’s Prime Sentiment Index Slips to 14.4 as Luxury Housing Rebalances
