The Fast and the Furious: The U.S. Housing Market in 2 Charts

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The predictions for the spring housing market have been as consistent as the forecast for weather in Southern California: hot, hot, hot. But it’s one thing to read about it and another thing to experience it up close. We analyzed April data from our site and found that, yup, in some markets the buying activity is fast and furious. Don’t tell Vin Diesel!
“The early read on April confirms that this spring is shaping up to be the best spring so far in this housing recovery,” said Jonathan Smoke, this site’s chief economist, who reviewed our user activity and listing records for the first three weeks of the month.
“Demand is strong—traffic, searches, and listing views are up substantially over last year,” he said. “And while inventory is growing, supply is not keeping pace with demand, and so homes are selling more quickly and commanding higher prices.”
The number of median days on market, now at 73, continues to decline sharply, down 12% year over year and 18% month over month. Meanwhile, the listings inventory is now growing faster, with 5% more homes on the market in April than in March. This means would-be home buyers have more options, although inventory is still down compared with this period last year.
And where are people so hot for home buying? The list below shows the 20 most in-demand markets out of the largest 200 markets in the U.S., based on listing views relative to the number of listings. The number to the left indicates how many spots the market has moved up or down in the rankings since last month, or whether it’s new to the list.
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