Dive Brief:

• California kept its place as a powerhouse state for housing, with seven cities there listed among Realtor.com’s 10 most-active markets in February.

• Vallejo, CA nabbed the top spot from last month’s leader San Francisco, now in the No. 2 spot, while Dallas, Denver and San Jose, CA, rounded out the top five. The only other non-California city in the top 10 was Colorado Springs, CO.

• Inventory is already tight heading into the spring selling season, with homes nationwide selling 5% faster in February than a year ago. The median list price is up 9% for the period at $250,000.

Dive Insight:

Home-value increases in California are beginning to ebb as a general population shift to more affordable secondary markets is applying price pressure elsewhere.

That was underlined in a report this week from listing website Zillow, which noted that markets in Texas, Tennessee and Florida experienced annual home price gains of more than 10% in January. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, Tampa, FL, and Nashville, TN, were among the leaders.

Housing affordability reached its lowest point in eight years during the fourth quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. Swelling home prices, lot and labor shortages and rising mortgage rates, together, are holding back some buyers and making it difficult for builders to put enough inventory in the ground to meet current demand.

Those factors subsequently triggered a decline in builder optimism for the second-straight month in February on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which tracks the outlook for future business conditions. Though the reading, at 65, was well ahead of the breakeven mark of 50, the two-month slide reflects the impact of headwinds on the buyer and supply sides.

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