Renting before buying seems to be a current trend in the luxury home market. With so many homes available in this price range it's becoming difficult to choose expecially when the majority of homes are in great shape and have no real negatives! Buyers are under no pressure to buy if they don't have a time line so they are choosing the option of renting a home in the $1M price range and getting to know the neigborhoods before committing to buy.

The good thing about this trend is that there is in effect a delayed demand for luxury homes and as the market starts to come back there will be a spike in demand for homes over $1M and it could be come a sellers market very quickly. Thats just one of the risks in delaying buying a home when you could really get a better deal just spending some time with a real estate professional and making a decision to buy.