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
