Takeaways:
- The San Francisco Bay Area continues to top the list of hot housing markets despite housing costs.
- East Coast — Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and South — states are not performing among the top 20.
- Areas considered hot may not be the best markets for agents to make a living.
Of the medium- to large-size markets in the nation, the hottest for housing supply and demand are primarily located in California and Texas.
According to a realtor.com analysis of listing views (an indicator of buyer demand) and median days on the market (an indicator of supply), 11 of the 20 hottest housing markets in the nation are in California.
These markets include San Francisco (1), Vallejo (4), Santa Rosa (5), San Jose (6), San Diego (7), Sacramento (9), Santa Cruz (12), Los Angeles (14) Oxnard (15), Stockton (16) and Yuba City (17). All but three of these markets — San Diego, Los Angeles and Oxnard — are located in the northern portion of the state.
Hot Texas markets include Dallas (2), Midland (8), Austin (18) and San Antonio (19).
Of note, no markets along the East Coast made the top 20. Nashville (20) represented the only Southern metro considered “hot.”
Aside from the locales mentioned, other hot markets cited by the analysis include Denver (3); Columbus, Ohio (10); Ann Arbor, Michigan (11); and Detroit (12).
James R. Martin / Shutterstock.com
According to realtor.com, these top 20 markets receive 1.8 times to three times the number of views per listing compared to the national average. These markets are seeing inventory move 29 to 48 days more quickly than the rest of the U.S., with days on market dropping year over year by an average of 13 percent.
Another recent hotness ranking compiled by realtor.com operator Move Inc. pointed to 02176 (Melrose, Massachusetts) — a submarket of Boston — as the nation’s hottest ZIP for housing, followed by 43085 (Worthington, Ohio) and 80122 (Centennial, Colorado).
The rankings were determined in similar fashion — by eyeing listing views and time on market data — and found hot ZIPs to be 75023 (Plano, Texas, a submarket of Dallas); 48375 (Novi, Michigan, a submarket of Detroit); 63126 (Crestwood, Missouri, a submarket of St. Louis); and 92010 (Carlsbad, California, a submarket of San Diego).
Two hot ZIPs mentioned that are located within primary markets included 78247 (San Antonio’s north central district) and 78729 (Austin’s north side).
While these markets may be hot based on listing views and sales time, they might not be the best locales for agents to earn a living.
A recent report from SmartAsset suggested Reno, Nevada; Lincoln, Nebraska; Denver; Salem, Oregon; and Peoria, Illinois, are the top five locales for agents. Ranking sixth to 10th were Port St. Lucie, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; Eugene, Oregon; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Las Vegas.
To determine the best markets, SmartAsset considered four different metrics — home turnover rate, change in median sales price, number of homes sold per agent and median agent salary.
