Luxury home sales volumes grew by double-digit percentage points in the first quarter of 2014 in nine of the Northern California regions. Redfin‘s 2014 Luxury Report shows that three Bay Area regions are leading the nation in high-end home sales growth this year.

Luxury homes are defined as those in the most expensive 1 percent of properties. In the U.S. metropolitan areas high end home sales were up 21% in the first four months of 2014.Redfin further reported that San Francisco had the most expensive luxury-home prices in the Country. The minimum amount a San Francisco buyer would need to purchase a luxury priced home would be $5.35 million — not to mention earn $916,000 per year and make monthly mortgage payments of more than $21,000, assuming a 30-year, fixed-rate loan.

San Jose was 2nd with luxury homes sales increases of 91%. Ranking fourth in the country for highest minimum luxury home pricing of $3.38 million. San Francisco and San Jose placed among the top 10 markets with the highest percentage of all-cash luxury sales, 55.7 and 48.8 percent respectively.

Which neighborhoods are tops? In San Francisco it’s Presidio Heights – average luxury home cost of $7.5 million. Pacific Heights – average luxury home cost of $7.2 million and Russian Hill – average luxury home cost of $6.5 million.

In San Jose – technically Old Palo Alto – average luxury home cost of $4.7 million (although as of today it looks like more like $6 million for a Professorville tear down!) Movoto just named Palo Alto the second wealthiest small city in the U. S. Menlo Park was fifth.