It's not a crash or even a correction, but a slight downturn in Toronto's fast-paced housing market has some analysts nervous.

Just not about the future of luxury homes, as rich people are out there flexing as strong as ever, according to Sotheby's International Realty Canada's Top-Tier Real Estate Mid-Year Report.

Luxury real estate appears like it could be immune (or at least resistant) to a softening of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market in the face of soaring borrowing costs.

Toronto homes are getting cheaper but experts can't seem to agree where it ends https://t.co/S34PVeqJgT #Toronto #TorontoRealEstate #RealEstate

— blogTO (@blogTO) July 14, 2022

Residential sales over $1 million were down 10 per cent year-over-year in the first half of 2022, but it's getting harder to consider that class of homes as true luxury because average prices in the region coast comfortably above the million-dollar mark.

Higher-tier properties seem unaffected by the dip in sales, with the number of sales valued at over $4 million across Durham, Halton, Peel, Toronto, and York spiking seven per cent year-over-year in the first half of 2022, with 437 sales surpassing the historic highs recorded during the first two quarters of 2021.

Broken down by home type, $4 million-plus condominium units in the region saw sales gains of 13 per cent, while attached home sales in this price bracket spike by an astonishing 100 per cent, shattering another record.

Single-family home sales over $4 million saw growth, but not quite as strong, rising six per cent year-over-year.

Relief after a couple of years of lockdowns and market instability fed what Sotheby's describes as a rebounding desire for urban living in Toronto proper, where sales of $4 million-plus properties surged 16 per cent year-over year with 268 sales.

Luxury condo units in the city priced over $4 million were a hot commodity during the first half of the year, with sales of 416-area code units in this range spiking 31 per cent to 17 properties, though no units in the $10 million plus range sold in Toronto proper this year.

Region-wide, a total of 16 homes sold within the ultra-luxury category (or homes with a selling price above $10 million) were scooped up in the first half of the year. Seven of these were located in the 416, one fewer than in the first half of 2021.

It's only one more sale than the record-breaking 15 ultra-luxe homes sold in Q1 and Q2 2021, but it suggests that runaway inflation is of little concern to homebuyers in the wealthiest tax brackets.

Meanwhile, as the rich boast their excessive wealth through lavish home purchases, politicians, government bodies, and other organizations are still struggling to address a critical shortfall in affordable housing.