A recent industry survey has identified a dozen metropolitan area hotspots where most residential property listings are selling in 30 days or less, and 46 percent of sellers are getting 100 percent or more of their asking prices.
The survey, conducted by HouseHunt, also found that 78 percent of home sellers are still getting multiple offers, and annual home-price appreciation in the hotspot areas average 5 percent to 10 percent.
Charlotte, N.C., topped the list of hot housing markets with the median price for an existing home at $174,500, which is $56,500 below the latest national median price of $231,000 reported by the National Association of Realtors.
Also on the list were Seattle, Wash.; Nashville, Tenn.; Salt Lake City, Utah; St. Louis, Mo.; Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Jose and San Francisco in Northern California; and selected suburbs in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Riverside counties in Southern California. Certain Chicago metro areas such as Orland Park are also active.
The HouseHunt survey also turned up numerous non-metropolitan communities around the country where local housing markets are still extremely active. Such as: Glenwood Springs, Colo.; Eagle River, Ark.; Meridian and Emmett, Idaho; Dallastown, Pa.; Covington, Ga.; and the university town of Newark, Del.
Sixty-two percent of sales activity in the hotspot markets comes from repeat and move-up buyers, as well as population gains, according to the survey.
In Charlotte, N.C., Realtors report that market changes are happening as a result of an influx of people relocating from other parts of the country. “As a result, multiple offers are becoming the norm, and prices are often above the asking price. Also, sellers are no longer accepting offers contingent on the sale of a home,” said Kay and Joe Casey of Keller Williams Realty.
Donna Forrest-Johnston of RE/MAX Executive Realty reported higher median home prices and a limited unsold inventory. She identified all of uptown Charlotte plus Ballantyne, South Park, Myers Park, Lake Wylie, Elizabeth, Chantilly and Dilworth as hotspots.
HouseHunt’s second-quarter national survey found that the overall U.S. housing market had achieved a rare balance between buyer demand and seller supply for the first time in eight years. Only 14 percent of member agent respondents reported that the average time from listing to contract was 30 days or less.
