Some Americans are giving new meaning to the proverb that your home is your sanctuary.
The at-home wellness trend continues to evolve and grow, with the global market for wellness real estate projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030, according to the latest figures from the Global Wellness Institute. This market has nearly tripled since 2019, the organization found, and the U.S. alone accounted for nearly 29% of related spending in 2025.
While a sauna or a cold plunge were the go-to among many wellness-minded homeowners just a few years ago, things are changing. These days, “invisible wellness” is the next big home trend, as House Beautiful declared in March, which includes touches like circadian lighting, nature-inspired spaces, scent-scaping, and the choice of color palettes.
Furthermore, the traditional markers of what constitutes “luxury” real estate are shifting as aging millionaires, in particular, are prioritizing features that extend independent living, according to a midyear luxury outlook report released this week by Sotheby’s International Realty. Aging in place is a growing concern among homebuyers shopping for luxury homes that sell for $10 million and up, according to roughly 38% of real estate professionals surveyed for the report.
“In this era of longevity, luxury real estate is no longer just about where you live but how well and how long you can live there,” Tammy Fahmi, senior vice president of global servicing and strategy at Sotheby’s International Realty, said in the report. “Homes are becoming hubs for care, connection and continuity—where luxury is also defined by adaptability, wellness, and community.”
THE WELLNESS PREMIUM
How much are some people thinking about their home in a holistic sense? Wellness infrastructure and health-centered design are now playing a key role in many purchase designs for luxury homebuyers, according to Sotheby’s.
These homebuyers are specifically looking for design elements that ensure accessibility as their mobility changes over time, as well as properties that offer direct access to nature, optimized air and water systems, integrated health-monitoring tech, and spa-like amenities. Because some of these systems are harder to retrofit, developers and builders are now thinking about how to thoughtfully integrate these elements into the design from the onset, according to reporting by Realtor.com.
“Wellness and longevity features are moving from ‘nice extra’ to genuine buying criteria, and it makes sense,” Jennifer Chino, a real estate agent with Compass in Annapolis, Maryland, told the real estate site. “Buyers aren’t just shopping for square footage anymore; they’re shopping for how a home will make them feel and function day-to-day, especially as more people work from home and think longer term about aging in place.”
WELLNESS GOES MAINSTREAM
In a real estate market that’s becoming increasingly bifurcated, making wellness upgrades is a decision that can pay off for those homeowners who can afford to do so. There’s a premium of between 10% and 25% for wellness-focused residential properties, according to the Global Wellness Institute.
That’s particularly true of residences that embed age‑friendly design with sophisticated wellness tech, according to Sotheby’s Fahmi. “Homes with main‑floor suites, elevator stacks, slip‑resistant surfaces, smart monitoring, staff quarters, and wellness suites will be at a premium,” she said.
But even the hoi polloi can get in on the trend. There’s a whole niche of content online, for example, that explains the budget-friendly DIY route for turning a livestock water tank typically used for farm animals into a cold plunge tub. And Costco members can purchase a sauna for as little as $1,800.
As the definition of what’s considered “luxury” evolves, more and more homebuyers can expect to find integrated wellness elements in homes that are within their budget. In fact, many buyers are already focusing on homes that make it easier to live well day-to-day, as Jennifer Stickler, president and principal broker at Mountain Luxury Real Estate, told Realtor.com.
“The luxury market may introduce some of these ideas first, but like a lot of things in real estate, they eventually become much more mainstream and affordable,” Stickler said.
