Current Report
2025 Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Outlook Report
The 2025 Luxury Outlook Report from Sotheby's International Realty examines the forces reshaping high-end real estate around the world — from the rise of experience-driven luxury and evolving buyer priorities, to the growing dominance of cash transactions, international wealth migration, and the accelerating role of artificial intelligence in how luxury properties are discovered, marketed, and sold.
For Pacific Northwest buyers and sellers, this is not background reading. It is a strategic framework. The global trends identified in this report — tech-sector wealth concentration, lifestyle-driven relocation, and international buyer activity — map directly onto what is driving demand in Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland, and Seattle's $2M–$20M+ tier.
This report is the foundation of every high-level strategy conversation I have with my clients.
2025 Report at a Glance · Sotheby's International Realty Global Network
What the Luxury Outlook Reports Cover
Global Trends. Local Implications. Eastside Clarity.
The Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Outlook Report is not simply a data publication — it is a qualitative and quantitative examination of the mindsets, motivations, and market forces driving the world's wealthiest real estate participants. Each annual edition identifies six to eight major themes with direct implications for buyers and sellers at every price point above $1M.
Themes covered globally across the report series include:
Wealth Migration & Cross-Border Buyer Activity — How shifting tax environments, political stability, and lifestyle preferences drive international luxury buyers into specific cities and markets. Sotheby's global network provides unparalleled insight into where wealth is moving and why.
Cash Buyer Dominance — The growing share of all-cash transactions in the luxury tier, how this reshapes negotiation dynamics, and what it means for sellers pricing competitively in a cash-heavy buyer pool.
AI & Technology in Luxury Real Estate — How artificial intelligence is transforming property search, marketing, valuation modeling, and client experience — including findings from surveys of Sotheby's agents worldwide on adoption and impact.
Multi-Residence & Lifestyle-Driven Purchasing — The rise of buyers acquiring multiple residences across markets, driven by remote work flexibility, travel patterns, and the desire for curated lifestyle access in multiple geographies.
Sustainability & Eco-Conscious Luxury Design — How green building standards, energy efficiency, and environmental considerations have moved from fringe preference to mainstream expectation among luxury buyers — and how this is being priced into the market.
Estate Planning & UHNW Wealth Strategy — How tax law changes, estate planning dynamics, and intergenerational wealth transfer are influencing real estate decisions at the ultra-high-net-worth level.
How These Themes Play Out on the Eastside:
In the Bellevue and greater Seattle luxury market, these global forces are not abstract. Tech-sector equity events — IPOs, RSU vestings, acquisitions — drive concentrated bursts of demand at the $2M–$10M price tier. International buyer activity, particularly from Asia-Pacific, continues to influence demand in Medina, Clyde Hill, Mercer Island, and central Bellevue. The cash-buyer share in the $3M+ segment regularly exceeds 40–50% of closed transactions — a structural reality that shapes everything from pricing strategy to contingency structure.
These reports give my clients the global context that informs local decisions.
Report Archive
Luxury Outlook Report Library
2025 Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Outlook
The 2025 Luxury Outlook identifies how experience-driven luxury, AI adoption, evolving wealth migration patterns, and the cash-buyer economy are reshaping high-end real estate globally — with direct implications for Pacific Northwest buyers and sellers navigating the $2M–$20M+ market.
Key Themes: AI in real estate · Cash buyer dominance · Lifestyle relocation · International wealth migration · Sustainability premium
View 2025 Report →2024 Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Outlook
The 2024 Luxury Outlook examined the convergence of technology and tradition in high-end real estate, revealing how rising interest rates drove cash-transaction dominance, how multi-residence ownership expanded among the ultra-wealthy, and how over 80% of Sotheby's agents anticipated AI fundamentally reshaping the industry.
Key Themes: AI adoption · Rate environment & cash buyers · Multi-residence strategies · International market dynamics · Estate planning
View 2024 Report →2026 Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Outlook
The 2026 Luxury Outlook Report will be added here upon release. Subscribe below to receive it directly when it becomes available.
Notify Me When AvailableAll reports published by Sotheby's International Realty. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Archive links subject to publisher availability.
Expert Analysis · Freddy Delgadillo
How the Global Luxury Outlook Applies to Bellevue & the Eastside
When Sotheby's International Realty's research team identifies global trends in the annual Luxury Outlook, I translate those findings directly into what I'm observing on the ground in Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland, and greater Seattle. Here is how the major themes in recent reports connect to the conversations I'm having with my clients right now.
Tech Wealth & the $2M–$10M Tier
The Pacific Northwest is one of the few markets globally where a single industry — technology — concentrates enough wealth to sustain consistent demand at the luxury tier. RSU vestings, equity events, and tech-company acquisitions regularly create concentrated windows of high-intent buyers entering the $2M–$5M range. Understanding this cycle is not about predicting the market — it is about positioning your transaction to align with it.
The Cash Buyer Reality
The Luxury Outlook's identification of cash-buyer dominance globally resonates deeply in our market. In the $3M+ Eastside tier, a significant portion of transactions close without financing — and this changes everything about how you structure an offer, negotiate contingencies, or price a listing to attract the most competitive offer. Buyers who come in with conventional financing need strategies that counterbalance the cash offers they will almost certainly compete against.
International Buyer Influence
Communities like Medina, Clyde Hill, Yarrow Point, and central Bellevue see consistent interest from international buyers — particularly from Asia-Pacific markets — whose motivations and decision-making frameworks differ substantially from domestic buyers. My bilingual capabilities and 25+ years of cross-cultural client experience are directly applicable to navigating these transactions from both sides.
What This Means for Your Strategy
Whether you are a buyer positioning in a competitive luxury tier, a seller determining how to price and present a $3M+ property, or an investor evaluating the long-term trajectory of Eastside luxury values — these global reports provide the macro context. I provide the micro application. Together, that is a strategy built on both evidence and experience.
“I do not use these reports as marketing materials. I use them as client preparation tools — the foundation of the informed conversation every luxury buyer and seller deserves before they make a move.”
— Freddy M. Delgadillo, CLHMS® | Judah Realty Group
Common Questions
Luxury Outlook Report FAQ
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The Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Outlook Report is an annual global analysis of the trends, buyer behaviors, and economic forces shaping high-end real estate markets worldwide. Published by one of the world's most recognized luxury real estate brands — with over 1,000 offices across 82+ countries — the report draws on agent surveys, transaction data, and economic research to identify the themes most likely to influence luxury property decisions in the year ahead. Each edition is free to access and designed for informed buyers, sellers, and advisors navigating markets above $1M.
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The global themes in the Luxury Outlook — cash buyer dominance, tech-wealth concentration, international buyer migration, and AI adoption — translate directly to the Eastside luxury market. Bellevue operates at the intersection of Pacific Rim international demand and domestic tech-sector wealth, making it one of the markets most closely connected to global luxury trends. For buyers and sellers in the $2M–$20M+ tier, understanding these macro forces provides critical context for timing, pricing, and negotiating strategy. For a personalized application of these insights to your specific situation, schedule a consultation with Freddy directly.
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The 2026 Luxury Outlook Report has not yet been released as of early 2026. Sotheby's International Realty typically publishes the annual Luxury Outlook in the first quarter of each year. This page will be updated as soon as the 2026 report is available. Contact Freddy directly to be notified upon release — or check back at judahrealty.com/luxury-outlook-reports.
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The Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Outlook is published annually, typically in Q1 of each calendar year. It is produced by Sotheby's International Realty's research and marketing teams in partnership with luxury real estate professionals across their global network. Each edition analyzes the prior year's trends and projects forward-looking themes for the coming year. As a member of the Realogics Sotheby's International Realty network in Bellevue, Freddy Delgadillo has access to — and distributes — these reports as part of his commitment to providing clients with the highest caliber of market intelligence.
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The Luxury Outlook provides the strategic backdrop — the "why" behind what is happening globally in luxury real estate. Freddy Delgadillo provides the local application — the "what this means for your specific property, price point, and timeline." The most effective approach is to review the report's key themes, schedule a consultation to discuss how they apply to your situation, and build a strategy that accounts for both macroeconomic forces and the specific competitive dynamics of the Eastside market. Freddy offers a complimentary strategy consultation for qualified buyers and sellers. Contact him directly at (425) 941-8688 or Freddy@JudahRealty.com.
Freddy Delgadillo
Global Real Estate Advisor
Realogics Sotheby's International Realty
25 Years · Bilingual · Multi-Market
Data Is Only Useful With an Advisor Who Knows How to Apply It
Global Insight. Local Strategy. Eastside Expertise.
The Luxury Outlook reports tell you where the global luxury market is heading. With 25+ years of Eastside luxury experience, CLHMS® certification, and active representation across Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland, and Seattle, I translate those global insights into a strategy tailored to your specific property, price point, and timeline.
Whether you are buying or selling in the $2M–$20M+ range, or simply trying to understand where the Eastside luxury market is headed — I offer a complimentary strategy consultation built on the data that matters most to your situation.
Freddy@JudahRealty.com · 10237 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98004 · @JudahRealty