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The most extravagant residential luxury trends come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing is for certain: they can be difficult to pull off and will cost a pretty penny.
The biggest luxury trends of 2025 largely centered around health and well-being, comfort, security and embracing joy and beauty.
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Some of the top features that agents said homebuyers were drawn to most were those having to do with wellness.
“Whether that’s an infrared sauna or a cold plunge or a gym, those are the things that people really, really want,” Erin Sykes of SYKES told Inman.
As homeowners increasingly incorporate technology and artificial intelligence into their lives and homes, things like home oxygenation systems and hyperbaric chambers have made their way into homes alongside more commonplace smart home technology, like security systems and temperature controls.
“We’re all just starting to kind of use this and see new features and things rolled out, and the agents who understand AI and know how to use the platforms, but also understand how consumer preferences and consumer searches continue to adapt, will be the ones to succeed when AI rolls out on a larger scale,” Coldwell Banker’s vice president of luxury, Michael Altneu, told Inman.
From “iceberg homes” to hyperbaric chambers to personal fire hydrants and more, luxury homeowners were not afraid to glam up their homes in the name of their well-being, security and happiness this year. Here’s how those themes played out in home design.
Heath and well-being
“I think the No. 1 [trend from 2024] is a focus on health and wellness,” Sykes told Inman.
Buyers doubled down on improving their health by incorporating high-tech amenities into their homes that addressed things like air quality, muscle, joint and body tissue health.
That meant that homeowners in high-altitude locations, like Aspen or Telluride, took to installing home oxygenation systems, which can pull oxygen from the air outside of a home and pump it inside of the home to make residents breathe easier.
At one luxury property in Telluride, the homeowner installed such a system to make the 10,500-foot-elevation home feel like it’s just around 3,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. The project took two years of planning and six years of construction to complete at a cost of $18 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. But now the home’s owners and their guests no longer have to wait a few days to acclimate to the altitude.
Luxury homeowners have also taken to rolling out the red carpet when it comes to air purifiers, splurging for more high-tech models like the cold atmospheric plasma air filter. These types of purifiers use electrically charged gas to create a “reactive oxygen species” that is able to break down pollutants, as well as airborne pathogens like viruses, bacteria and allergens.
Such filters are much more expensive than the typical air purifier, but relatively affordable for high-end buyers at around a couple thousand dollars each.
When it comes to treating bodily health, contrast therapy tubs and hyperbaric chambers have gained in popularity in residential luxury properties in the last year.
A hyperbaric chamber | Canva
Hyperbaric chambers circulate air at two to three times the pressure of air in a typical home. That increased pressure allows the lungs to take in more oxygen, which is supposed to encourage bodily healing and anti-aging, among other benefits. Depending on the model, such chambers can cost anywhere from about $5,000 to $100,000. Higher-end models might feature an intercom phone system or data readouts from chamber sessions.
Contrast therapy tubs, meanwhile, allow users to alternate between hot and cold water exposure so that they don’t have to choose between a hot soak or a cold plunge. The therapy technique is supposed to help reduce inflammation and lactic acid buildup, and can help provide relief for chronic conditions like arthritis. Models made for home use can cost anywhere between $2,000 to $15,000.
Magnesium swimming pool | Canva
In other forms of water therapy, some luxury homeowners have also started moving away from saltwater pools to magnesium swimming pools. The pools use minerals, including magnesium chloride or magnesium sulfate, to sanitize the water by creating chlorine from the minerals. Such pools still use chlorine, but it is much less than the typical chlorine pool, which makes the water taste better (and does not have the saltiness of saltwater pools).
The minerals contained in magnesium pools are said to help with skin ailments, including dermatitis and eczema, and can help reduce stress and improve sleep.
The upfront costs associated with magnesium pools are slightly higher than those of a traditional pool, but users may save over time by not having to pay for chemical additives and other maintenance associated with chlorine pools.
Comfort and security
Although the “iceberg home” trend that has swept luxury properties over the past couple of years largely began in response to more strict zoning and planning regulations enacted by cities, the trend has also become a way to create more private spaces within a home that enhance its feeling of intimacy.
An “iceberg home” basement at 15490 Mountain View Cir, Broomfield, CO | Zillow
“It’s not just about adding more space; it’s about shaping a living experience that feels both voluminous and intimate, with an emphasis on privacy and sustainability,” Zoltan E. Pali, founder and design principal at SPF in LA, told The Agency. “Iceberg homes offer a fascinating interplay between architecture and nature, where we are not just building on the land but within it … Ultimately, these homes aren’t just about luxury — they’re about rethinking how we inhabit our environment.”
No longer designated for the home gym or theater, these expansive underground living spaces are now incorporating recreational areas, wine-tasting rooms, bedroom suites and more. Architects are designing these underground spaces to no longer feel like a cave by working features like skylights and staircases into the design in order to bring more natural light down into the space.
A stylish walk-in closet | Canva
Another more private home space that received an extensive glam-up this year is the walk-in closet.
Some homeowners have not only elevated the style of these interior spaces with features like crystal chandeliers and revolving shoe racks but have also added increased functionality to invite people to linger in closets.
As budgets for closets have ballooned to $500,000 or more, up from about $80,000 a year ago, some luxury homeowners are adding champagne bars, elevators and spray-tan booths to their walk-ins, The WSJ reported. Other additions include clothing storage that can also dry-clean items, meditation areas and built-in cameras that can document outfits and send photos to a digital folder.
Since closets often double as jewelry storage areas, some homeowners are also adding high-tech jewelry cases to those spaces, which can include thumbprint-protected locks.
Residential fire hydrant | Canva
Other homeowners are shifting their focus to the security of their home in the event of a natural disaster. The personal fire hydrant, for instance, is becoming a sought-after amenity in areas at risk of wildfire. Many luxury enclaves in California are at risk for wildfires, but having a fire hydrant and hoses at the ready can help homeowners feel better prepared.
Homeowners can draw water from a private water tank or municipal water, provided that they can get permission from the local water company (which may also come at a cost of several thousand dollars) and adhere to best practices as laid out by the National Fire Protection Association.
Installing a private fire hydrant may also come with the added benefit of giving a homeowner a lower home insurance premium since some insurance companies view the tool favorably. Depending on the model and whether or not a homeowner hooks up to municipal water, the cost for installing a private fire hydrant can run anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 or more.
Even if a homeowner does not stay behind to fight a fire themselves, the hydrant can be helpful as another water source for the professionally trained firefighters who come to the scene.
This next home trend may not directly relate to comfort and security, but it certainly relates to convenience. Agents and stars of Bravo’s Sold in SLC explained to the world this year the practical marvel of the “Costco door,” a roughly 3-foot-by-3-foot door that many Mormon households incorporate into their home plans, which directly connects the garage to the pantry.
Their penchant for being prepared for the worst has many Mormon and Utahan families equipping their homes with large, well-stocked pantries that can expand up to 20 by 8 feet. When it comes time to bring home goods to restock, it’s much easier to simply push them from the garage directly into the pantry, rather than having to cart everything through the house.
“The Costco door [and] the cold food storage room [are not] something that’s really widely known outside of Utah, but it’s something that is a really big deal because we’re [Church of Latter Day Saints] culture and all about storing food,” Kenny Sperry of Presidio Real Estate told Realtor.com.
Finding joy
Unlike those mentioned thus far, some luxury trends to have emerged in 2024 simply serve to help homeowners achieve a more joyful, and often, aesthetically pleasing, life.
Well-to-do Hindu homeowners, for instance, are elevating their home worship spaces with custom designs that may feature high-end finishes, like marble or gilded trim, The WSJ reported this fall. The pooja room has reached a new status in the home’s design, with more interior designers, homebuilders and developers receiving specific requests in regard to these worship spaces as the number of Indian-Americans in the U.S. increases.
Sometimes those requests may involve custom murals or rearranging the layout of the home so that the pooja room can be in the north, northeast or eastern corner of the home and bathrooms can be moved further away.
The pet industry has also boomed in recent years, and along with other methods of pampering that homeowners have embraced are designated pet washing stations and built-in animal showers. Homebuilders have increasingly started to incorporate these features in new homes due to growing demand.
Pet showers might include special features, like a low-profile entryway for short-legged friends, or extended hoses so as to better access hard-to-reach spots. Doggie spa areas in a home also may include built-in kennels, storage and washing stations for the convenience of having Fido’s needs met all in one place.
Doggie showers and spa areas are growing in demand in luxury homes | Canva
Luxury renters have also found their needs for social connection being met with more structured programming put on by buildings often dubbed “adult field trips,” according to The New York Post. Also known as “excursions,” and “resident events,” these outings are allowing luxury apartment residents, particularly in New York City, to put the isolation of COVID in the past and embrace a more social lifestyle.
A woman picking apples | Canva
New York City developer The Brodsky Organization has embraced these offerings for residents as it seeks to build friendships within its living communities. Excursions might include trips to apple farms, wineries or a sailboat ride around Manhattan.
Residents still have to pay a fee to participate, but because of group package deals, the cost is much lower than if an individual were to attend these events on their own. Brodsky management arranges all bookings and transportation, often incorporating some type of meal as well.
In a city that continues to see sky-high rental prices, adult field trips make residents feel like they’re getting a bit more bang for their buck, said Douglas Elliman agent Deepti Mittal.
“Given how expensive rentals are, people are shopping around more than they usually would before deciding,” Mittal told The Post. “Rather than dropping the price, developers are trying to stay competitive by giving you more of a benefit.”
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