Buyers found million-dollar discounts last year in metro Detroit’s high-end housing market, where the top 10 home sale prices ranged from $2.2 million to $4.8 million.

But those bargains aren’t likely to be repeated this year: Sparse inventory can’t satisfy growing demand for the best addresses, brought on by a resurgent auto industry, local real estate professionals say.

“These big deals that went down won’t happen again,” said John Kucish, a real estate agent with Re/Max Classic in Farmington Hills, who sold a sprawling seven-bedroom home in West Bloomfield last year for $2.6 million. “I won’t be able to deliver a 16,000-square-foot house on Orchard Lake on two acres again for that price. No way.”

The most expensive house sold in 2010 was a Birmingham colonial built for Carole Ilitch, daughter of Mike and Marian Ilitch, and her former husband, David Trepeck; they sold it in 2002. The six-bedroom home with 11,009 square feet and impressive gardens had a list price of $6.39 million and sold for $4.8 million in August.

Nine of the houses on the list, which was compiled by Southfield-based Real Estate One, were in Oakland County and one in Washtenaw County’s Scio Township.

Most-expensive houses sold locally in 2010

Dana Lyon stood no chance against the English country home she saw in Birmingham last spring. The four-bedroom, 5,500-square-foot, 1926 home lured her with its charm, from the evergreen hedge that arches over the walkway to a heart-shaped doorbell.

“The minute we walked in the door, we knew this was the house,” said Lyon, an interior architect who recently relocated from Chicago. “When I walked in, I loved the scale of the living room and dining room and how the light came through the rooms.”

She paid $2.45 million for the home, which was last listed for $2.7 million. It features a sunken living room with a massive limestone fireplace and French doors leading out to a terrace, a gourmet kitchen, wine cellar, theater room, exercise room, elevator and a master suite with heated marble floors. It has four bathrooms and three half bathrooms and was completely renovated in 2005. The lower level has nearly 2,000 square feet.

The Top 10 metro Detroit sales prices in 2010 ranged from $2.2 million to $4.8 million, according to multiple listing service data compiled by Real Estate One in Southfield.

That compares to other distressed markets such as Las Vegas, where the highest 2010 home sales ranged from $3.1 million to $4.7 million, and Cleveland, with a range of $1.2 million to $2.7 million, according to Zillow.com data.

Amenities in this price range include a stately stone or brick exterior that contains at least 5,000 square feet, a wine cellar, theater room, bedroom suites and chef’s kitchens. Many of the top houses sit on more than 2 acres, had a waterfront location and unique features such as an indoor basketball court.

Half of the metro Detroit buyers paid cash for their luxury digs and just one was a foreclosure. Nine of homes were in Oakland County, and one was in Washtenaw County’s Scio Township.

The list excludes private sales, and some of those run higher than $4.8 million, including one just under $6 million in Oakland County, sold by Hall Hunter Realtors in Birmingham, said J. Bradley Wolf, vice president and associate broker of the firm.

“We have seen some positive signs of stabilization in the past year in the luxury market. We are seeing higher demand and decreasing inventory,” Wolf said.

Demand picking up

Agents who sell in the luxury market have been busier lately than they have been in years, said Cindy Kahn, a Realtor with SKBK Sotheby’s in Birmingham. She said 2010 was her best year of eight in the business, with $20 million in sales. She knows of another agent in town who sold $40 million in residential real estate last year.

“The million-plus market is coming back, and that tells me that buyers have confidence,” she said.

Lyon’s Realtor, Sheila Levine, who is with Keller Williams Realty in Farmington Hills, said that inventories in the $1-million-and-above price range have fallen in the past year. That means fewer bargains as more sellers can afford to wait for the right buyer.

The inventory of houses on the market priced between $1 million to $1.999 million in Oakland County fell to 169 in the fourth quarter of 2010 from 229 in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to Real Estate One data.

“Obviously the pool of buyers at this price range is small. Sellers perhaps don’t need to sell, so they are not so quick to lower the price,” Levine said. “It’s a whole different mind-set and lifestyle.”

And as the housing market improves along with the renewed strength of the auto industry, big bargains on luxury homes may be harder to find.

Buyers coming with cash

Kimberly Nagy-Street, an agent with Max Broock Realtors in Birmingham, sold the second most-expensive house on the list, a $3.9 million three-story contemporary brick home. It sits on 2 acres on Upper Long Lake and was last listed for $4.9 million.

The house spans 15,865 square feet with a 4,000-square-foot lower level. It has six full bedroom suites with their own bathrooms, an indoor basketball court and a separate indoor pool building. The main home has a chef’s kitchen, two fireplaces, an elevator and first-floor master suite.

The owners looked at a dozen other homes before settling on this one. The sale helped Nagy-Street achieve her best selling year yet, with $10 million in home sales.

“Last year, we saw the first signs that the upper end of the market was coming back and it hasn’t stopped since,” she said. “This past year, I’ve seen more cash buyers. They are looking at real estate as a solid investment. It’s tangible.”

Tom Zibkowski, a Realtor with Realty Executives Midwest in Shelby Township, said that while there are signs of recovery, the luxury market isn’t quite there yet. And that means there are still deals to be had.

He sold a home in Oakland Township for $2.4 million last year that had been listed at $2.75 million. It has six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and a half bathroom in 9,150 square feet, with an extra 2,850 square feet on the lower level. The gated estate on 12 acres has a nine-stall horse barn and indoor riding arena. The brick home is in Cape Cod style with an indoor lap pool, six fireplaces and a gourmet kitchen with a separate pizza oven.

“We have professional athletes, musicians, CEOs of large companies, and they are starting to move around a little bit,” he said. “In the million-dollar range, you still may get something that is 30% to 60% off. As you go up in price, you won’t get as much of a price break.”

In 2009, two Grosse Pointe homes made it on the Top 10 home sales list. For 2010, former NBA player Chris Webber’s home on Jefferson Avenue in Grosse Pointe came close — it sold for $2.1 million though it was once listed at $3.5 million, said Mark Monaghan, broker/owner of Sine Monaghan Realtors Real Living in Grosse Pointe Farms.

Like others who specialize in the luxury market, he said he thinks it has stabilized and huge price reductions won’t happen as much this year because inventory levels in some areas and price ranges is too low.

“In Grosse Pointe Farms, for example, we have 10 buyers actively looking in the $5-million to $7-million range, but the inventory isn’t there. Once something comes on the market, we will see multiple bid situations.”

Contact Greta Guest: 313-223-4192 or gguest@freepress.com