Wealthy homebuyers are flooding the Fort Worth-area market. A new study from Realtor.com shows that among 95 U.S. counties, Tarrant County was 13th for growth in sales of homes priced $1 million or more last year.

From August 2018 to August 2019, the volume of million-dollar home sales in Tarrant County climbed 23.8 percent, says the study, released November 13. It tied with Pinellas County in Florida in sales volume.

In Tarrant County, the median price for a luxury home in August 2019 remained steady at $1.85 million versus the same time a year earlier, according to the study.

As defined by Realtor.com, a luxury home ranks among the top 5 percent for sale prices of all homes during the past year. The 95 “luxury” counties analyzed by Realtor.com are in 51 metro areas.

Austin's Travis County ranked highest on the list for the year-over-year rise in million-dollar home sales. Tarrant was the only other county in Texas to break into the top 20; curiously, next-door-neighbor Dallas County didn't make the cut.

Luxury markets continue to thrive because of low inventory and high demand, experts say.

“Buyers are willing to pay a premium for something special and unique," says Laura Gottesman, broker/owner of Gottesman Residential Real Estate. She adds that buyers know as cities evolve and grow, "their investments will appreciate."

From August 2018 to August 2019, the volume of million-dollar home sales in Travis County soared 66 percent. That was the highest percentage of any county tracked by Realtor.com. The median price of a luxury home there climbed 4.2 percent to $2.74 million.

Javier Vivas, director of economic research at Realtor.com, attributes the jump in million-dollar home sales in that area to job and salary growth. Austin’s economy “continues to outpace the rest of the country,” Vivas says.

As a result of the continuing “mass migration” of people from California and other states, the market for luxury homes in cities like Austin and Fort Worth is sizzling.

“Many of the higher-end buyers coming from California markets are adding pressure on inventory and pricing,” says Darin Walker, a Realtor who sells high-end homes at Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty. “Demand for higher-end new construction and special luxury properties has been on the rise. Many higher-end luxury homes are selling off-market and at record prices.”