15 Hottest Up-and-Coming U.S. Housing Markets: 2024
During November, the housing market witnessed a decline in the high mortgage rates that had previously been a burden, dropping from their nearly 8% peak in October to as low as 6.6% by mid-January, as indicated by a recent report from The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com.
Consequently, both pending and existing home sales stabilized in December, with significant declines prevented by the decrease in mortgage rates.
According to to Think Advisor, the housing market is unlikely to return to balance this year, the Realtor.com 2024 Housing Forecast suggests, but it will move in that direction. Still, buyers continue to find limited inventory.
The report noted that low buyer demand and possibly even lower seller activity is bolstering prices, which rose by 1.2% annually in December and remained about 37% higher than pre-pandemic levels at the national level. Homes spent four fewer days on the market than in December 2022 but still remained there two weeks less than before the pandemic — an indication of low for-sale inventory.
According to the report, demand in affordable locales keeps inventory conditions tight, price growth strong and time on market snappy, even though housing activity remains constrained nationally.
The most recent Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index identifies housing markets that those considering a home purchase to live in or rent out may want to add to their shortlist. These offer shoppers a lower cost of living, including for homes, and thriving local economies that are attractive but not too crowded.
