The month of August is typically a good one for home sellers and buyers, and this August has been no exception. In fact, sales are better than they’ve been in 10 years, properties are moving more quickly, and, the best news for sellers, prices have reached record highs.
According to preliminary estimates from Realtor.com’s chief economist, Jonathan Smoke, the median price for a home in August actually fell by $1,000 from July’s median to $250,000, but that’s up 8% year over year and a record high for the month. A little good news for buyers and very good news for sellers.
On top of that, homes for sale remained on the market a median of 68 days, one day less than a year ago, but three days slower than June. That month-over-month drop is normal because inventory reaches a peak in July and the increased supply of houses leads to fewer sales. New listings totaled an estimated 500,000 in July, not enough to keep up with demand and lower than the inventory level in July 2015.
Jonathan Smoke noted:
Realtor.com’s traffic growth has been particularly strong in August, even surpassing record highs set in July, making this an extended summer with unprecedented interest in buying.
With the school year starting now in most of the country, we’re seeing some drop-off in immediate buying interest. The current conditions provide more opportunity for any frustrated buyers still in the market to face less competition as we close out the summer.
Realtor.com has identified August’s 20 hottest U.S. home markets, those medium-to-large cities where homes sell fastest because buyers are eager to buy. Of the top 20, 11 are in California and three are located in the San Francisco Bay area, not including Santa Cruz or Sacramento. Here’s the full list:
- Vallejo, California
- Dallas, Texas
- Denver, Colorado
- San Francisco, California
- Stockton, California
- San Diego, California
- Columbus, Ohio
- Waco, Texas
- Detroit, Michigan
- Sacramento, California
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Yuba City, California
- Modesto, California
- San Jose, California
- Fresno, California
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Santa Cruz, California
- Kennewick, Washington
- Santa Rosa, California
- Nashville, Tennessee
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