October 2019 Hottest Housing Markets

  • Fort Wayne, IN retained its number one position on the list for the fourth month in a row
  • Ohio metros dominate with four markets appearing in October
  • Following Amazon’s HQ2 announcement, the Washington, DC metro area has seen the largest increase in its hotness ranking among larger metros over the past year

As a group, Realtor.com’s 20 Hottest Housing Markets received 1.5 to 2.5 times the number of views per home for sale compared to the national rate. These markets are seeing homes for sale move 16 to 29 days more quickly than the typical property in the United States overall. 

For the fourth month in a row, Fort Wayne, IN has held onto its spot as the hottest market in the country. The markets that have risen the most in ranking over the past year include Springfield, OH; Burlington, NC; and Pueblo, CO; which have moved up 93, 38 and 33 spots over the past year, respectively. 

Affordable Ohio Markets Dominate 

Twelve states were represented in the top 20 list, including California, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Ohio dominated the hotness list, with 4 markets represented, followed by California, with three markets represented.

The four Ohio markets which made the top 20 list this month include Columbus, Springfield, Canton-Massillon and Dayton. These markets receive a higher share of their views from out-of-state shoppers. According to the realtor.com® Cross Market Demand Report for the third quarter of 2019, the typical metro in the largest 100 metros across the country saw 17.0 percent of its home listing views flow in from out-of-state. The share in these four Ohio metros ranges from 18.6 to 22.3 percent. Out-of-state views to these Ohio metros were primarily fueled by home shoppers from more expensive midwestern and northeastern metros such as Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and New York. 

The Midwest continues to be home to the hottest markets in the country, with nine midwestern markets represented on this month’s list, compared to five in the West, three in the Northeast and two in the South. 

October Top 20 Hottest Housing Markets

Metro Rank (October 2019) Rank (October 2018) Days on Market Days on Market Y-Y Views per Property YoY Median Listing Price Median Listing Price YoY
Fort Wayne, IN 1 3 44 3 -3% $197,950 8%
Pueblo, CO 2 35 38 -16 29% $250,950 -3%
Columbus, OH 3 8 45 -7 16% $279,900 6%
Rochester, NY 4 14 44 -8 19% $202,500 11%
Colorado Springs, CO 5 6 45 -1 21% $427,375 15%
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN 6 15 45 -3 20% $229,450 21%
Janesville-Beloit, WI 7 12 48 -4 20% $227,000 18%
Burlington, NC 8 46 50 -12 47% $244,000 1%
Springfield, OH 9 105 45 -17 52% $128,000 28%
Topeka, KS 10 39 42 -7 27% $148,700 19%
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 10 4 42 5 5% $485,000 6%
Manchester-Nashua, NH 12 26 51 -8 29% $352,400 3%
Canton-Massillon, OH 13 21 40 -9 12% $160,900 8%
Dayton, OH 14 36 48 -4 25% $169,900 15%
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 15 25 49 -3 20% $349,700 11%
Stockton-Lodi, CA 15 17 42 -1 11% $429,000 9%
Midland, TX 17 2 43 4 -30% $370,573 4%
Modesto, CA 18 11 43 1 8% $370,723 9%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 19 7 48 4 2% $587,450 7%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 20 23 48 -1 17% $288,900 6%

 

Large Northeastern Markets 

Larger urban markets continue to see a ranking decline, with the largest 40 markets across the country dropping by 16 spots, on average, since last year. Western markets collectively fell 26 spots on average over the past year, compared to a decline of 16 spots for midwestern markets, a decline of 14 spots for southern markets, and an increase of 5 spots for northeastern markets.

Of the largest 40 metros, the most improved metros over the past year were Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (+36 spots), Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (+23 spots), Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC (+14 spots), Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (+12 spots), and Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN (+10 spots).

The November 13th one-year anniversary of Amazon’s announcement of their HQ2 looms on the horizon as Amazon’s plans continue to drive housing demand in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. Not only has housing demand propelled the metro up the hottest markets list, but it has also significantly depleted the inventory of active home listings, which has decreased by 19.6 percent over the past year.

On the supply side, the five most-improved markets combined are seeing inventory move four days more quickly than last year. In comparison, the largest 40 markets overall are seeing properties move one day slower, on average. The time a typical property spends on the market in the most-improved markets is 16 days shorter, on average, compared to the national rate. On the demand side, properties in these markets are receiving 20 percent more views compared to last year and 1.1 times more views than the typical property nationally.

October’s Most-Improved Major Housing Markets

Metro Rank (October 2019) Rank (October 2018) Days on Market Days on Market Y-Y Views per Property YoY Median Listing Price Median Listing Price YoY
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 81 117 43 -4 23% $479,900 7%
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 53 76 57 -6 17% $335,250 1%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 212 226 61 -4 28% $299,900 7%
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 49 61 52 -2 18% $377,000 6%
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 58 68 37 -5 12% $369,900 3%

 

Methodology

Listing views per property indicate relative demand while median days on market indicate relative supply. Top markets are those with strong relative demand and limited relative supply.  

Editor’s note: With the release of its October 2019 housing trends report, realtor.com® incorporated a new and improved methodology for capturing and reporting housing inventory trends and metrics. The new methodology uses the latest and most accurate data mapping of listing statuses to yield a cleaner and more consistent measurement of active listings at both the national and local level. The new methodology also allows realtor.com® to achieve more consistency and stability in measurements across markets and in each market over time. As a result of these changes, the data released today will not be directly comparable with previous releases and realtor.com® economics blog posts. However, future data releases, including historical data, will consistently apply the new methodology.


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