San Francisco knows what happens when a new industry creates fortunes.
Centuries ago the Gold Rush transformed the city, while 30 years ago the internet revolution infused it with cash. And now, another wave of wealth is emerging from the tech industry.
SpaceX’s record-setting IPO in June raised $75 billion, and newly minted millionaires are already channeling some of that wealth into luxury homes in California and South Texas.
The next question is where they, and the tech millionaires who may follow, might buy second homes.
Igor Pejic, a tech strategist, author and banking executive specializing in technology investing and financial markets, points to Anthropic and OpenAI as two major offerings to watch next, potentially creating another generation of founders, executives and employees with substantial new wealth.
“Several markets could see a meaningful demand shift following this year’s tech IPO activity,” said Realtor.com senior economist Anthony Smith.
Smith highlights three in particular: Las Vegas; Heber City, Utah; and Hailey, Idaho, in the Sun Valley resort area. Las Vegas is already attracting home buyers from some of the country’s largest tech and wealth centers. Nearly six out of every 10 views of listings there came from out-of-state buyers in the first quarter, according to Realtor.com data.
Silicon Valley alone accounted for 8.5% of the interest from outside the Las Vegas metro. In the mountains, vacation homes make up an unusually large share of the market. More than one in four homes in both Heber and Hailey are recreational or vacation properties, compared with roughly one in 30 nationwide, according to Realtor.com.
In other words, these established second-home destinations could be well positioned to attract a new crop of tech fortunes, particularly among buyers seeking privacy, recreation and easy access to major business hubs.
Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada
Sin City has spent decades perfecting the art of attracting people from elsewhere. Increasingly, some are buying homes rather than booking hotel rooms.
“Las Vegas has done the most deliberate work positioning itself for luxury buyers, and the cross-market data back that up,” Smith said.
California home buyers are already looking seriously at Las Vegas. Nearly a quarter of outside interest came from greater Los Angeles in the first quarter, while Silicon Valley contributed another 8.5%, according to Realtor.com. Together, the two regions accounted for roughly one-third of interest from beyond the Las Vegas area.
“We’ve seen an influx of high-net-worth buyers in the tech industry purchasing second homes in Henderson and Las Vegas,” said Ben Harris, a luxury real estate adviser with Las Vegas Sotheby’s International Realty.
Roughly half of Harris’s clients over the past year have been affluent Californians, he said, with growing interest from entrepreneurs, executives and investors connected to major West Coast tech centers.
Their version of Las Vegas often bears little resemblance to the Strip.
In Henderson, communities such as MacDonald Highlands offer contemporary homes, privacy and resort-caliber amenities within easy reach of the city.
“We’re seeing these buyers gravitate toward newer luxury homes with wellness amenities, advanced security and lock-and-leave convenience,” Harris said. “They’re looking for homes that support both productivity and downtime.”
Indeed, one contemporary home on the market for $28 million comes complete with an executive conference room and a whiskey bar.
Las Vegas also offers a relatively accessible entry point into serious luxury. A listing priced around $1.2 million already ranks among the most expensive 10% of homes on the market across the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas metro, according to Realtor.com. At roughly $5.7 million, a property enters the rarefied top 1%.
For someone arriving with an eight-figure tech windfall, that can translate into considerable purchasing power. Another bonus? Nevada’s lack of an individual state income tax is another attraction for wealthy residents.
Hailey and Sun Valley, Idaho
In Sun Valley, Idaho, the next wave of tech wealth would hardly be arriving on unfamiliar terrain.
“The tech buyer is already here,” said Todd Conklin, CEO of Coldwell Banker Distinctive Properties, who has sold real estate in the Wood River Valley for 25 years.
Most are coming from the Bay Area, followed by Seattle and Los Angeles, Conklin said. All three have seasonal nonstop service into Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey.
“When a founder can leave San Francisco and be on the mountain in under two hours with no connection, that changes things,” Conklin said. “A lot of buyers won’t seriously look at a second home unless they can get there easily.”
About 27% of homes in Hailey are recreational or vacation properties, compared with just 3.3% nationally, according to Realtor.com.
The typical listing in the Hailey area is priced at nearly $1.3 million. At around $9.7 million, a buyer is shopping among the priciest 10% of listings, while properties above roughly $22.2 million fall into the top 1%.
Conklin said tech buyers with more substantial wealth tend to shop in the $8 million to $15 million range, and sometimes splurge on even pricier marquee properties.
Those prices can also buy serious acreage.
A property recently listed for $25 million pairs a roughly 7,107-square-foot residence with 260 acres, while another asking $5.25 million spans nearly 52 acres.
Sun Valley’s relationship with the tech and media industries predates the current IPO cycle. “Tech money already vacations here, so Sun Valley never had to go recruit it,” Conklin said.
Tech buyers’ wish lists tend to be consistent: privacy, acreage, turnkey construction, ski and trail access, guest quarters, proximity to the airport and internet robust enough to handle work-from-home.
“Their time is the scarce resource here,” Conklin said. “They want to walk in and pour a drink, not sign up for a two-year remodel.”
Heber City and Park City, Utah
Drive beyond the ski mecca of Deer Valley, and the luxury equation begins to change.
In Heber City and the surrounding private golf communities, buyers can trade proximity to the resort core for newer mountain-modern homes, more land and privacy. They may still spend eight figures to get it, as Heber City is one of the priciest luxury markets in the U.S.
The typical listing in Heber is nearly $1.45 million, according to Realtor.com. Around $6 million puts a property in the top 10% of listings, while the top 1% starts at $22.2 million.
“Many of our buyers are self-made entrepreneurs who are getting younger and younger,” said Mike Mazzone, branch broker at Keller Williams Park City Mountain. “Mid-40s with the capabilities to buy $10 million-plus homes.”
Park City and Deer Valley still command the cachet, Mazzone said, while buyers venturing farther out can find newer homes, private golf communities and more room to spread out.
A $5 million in Park City limits “will get you a mostly dated home, however in excellent established neighborhoods,” Mazzone said.
In the outlying private golf communities, newer homes are commanding $8 million to $10 million and above, he said.
He expects the ceiling to rise considerably.
“$15 million to $20 million will start to become the norm,” Mazzone said. Indeed, one home in Heber on the market for $31 million boasts the perfect mix of tech and relaxation with an “oxygen lounge” and private ski runs.
