Chief economist of realtor.com,
Jonathan Smoke, suggested a surge of demand when taking an early
look at the housing data from March. Buyers should expect
substantial competition in the weeks to come.
“Despite a 2% growth in inventory month over month, the median
age of inventory continues to be down, with a 13% drop month over
month.”
He noted that median list prices are rising faster, now at
$220,000 nationally up 3% month over month and 11% year over
year.
Its still a sellers market, Smoke said. Realtor.com data shows
that supply is not keeping pace with surging demand. We expect
rising prices to persuade those who may be on the fence about
listing their homes to do so in the coming months, leading to
closer parity between supply and demand.
After looking over March housing data, Smokes determined what he
believes to be the 20 hottest markets in the country based on the
number of listing views relative to the number of listing.
We are now firmly in the time of the year when peak demand and
peak inventory levels typically occur, through spring and early
summer, Smoke said. Buyers should expect substantial competition,
especially in the hottest markets, and for affordably priced homes
within most markets.
Below are the Top 20 that Smokes believes to be the hottest and
should see healthy activity in the coming months and the spring
season kicks into high gear.
1. Waco, TX 2. New Orleans-Metairie, LA 3. Ann Arbor, MI 4.
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 5. Santa Rosa, CA 6. Fort Wayne, IN 7.
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 8. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 9. Columbus, OH 10.
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 11. Manchester-Nashua, NH 12. Boston–Cambridge-Newton,
MA-NH 13. Austin-Round Rock, TX 14. Boulder, CO 15. Springfield, IL
16. Charleston, WV 17. Pittsburgh, PA 18. Tampa-St.
Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 19. College Station-Bryan, TX 20.
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
Source: Housing Wire