Dive Brief:
- Realtor.com released its rankings Thursday of the 20 hottest real estate markets for July. California, yet again, scored the most metros on the list, and Vallejo, CA, is once again at the top spot. The list is representative of what the real estate website called the "hottest July" housing market in 10 years.
- Realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke estimated that July will end up with a median days-on-market figure of 68 days, which is one day faster than July 2015 but three days slower than last month. He said this trend is typical as the end of the summer selling season nears.
- Smoke said that even though July saw the addition of 500,000 new listings, total inventory is lower than it was in July 2015, and it was still not enough to meet demand.
Dive Insight
Although the median home price for July fell 1% from June to $251,000, Realtor.com said the figure still represents a July record and is 7% higher year over year. Smoke added that despite the very slight dip in days on market, two years' worth of pent-up demand and continuing low mortgage rates have prolonged the selling season.
Realtor.com determined its "hot" list by studying the markets where properties are selling the fastest (median days on market) and where demand is strongest (listing views).
According to the National Association of Realtors, June pending home sales failed to meet expectations, and NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun chalked this result up to lack of inventory. This month's existing home sales report also revealed a 3% surge in first-time homebuyer activity, which has been a struggling market due to lack of start-home inventory and student debt.
Realtor.com's full list of the 20 hottest July markets:
- Vallejo, CA
- Dallas
- Denver
- San Francisco
- Stockton, CA
- Columbus, OH
- San Diego, CA
- Santa Cruz, CA
- Sacramento, CA
- Santa Rosa, CA
- Yuba City, CA
- Modesto, CA
- Detroit
- Fort Wayne, IN
- San Jose, CA
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Fresno, CA
- Eureka, CA
- Nashville
- Ann Arbor, MI
