July 2024 Hottest Housing Markets
Here’s a where housing is making the most moves as of July, 2024.
According to Realtor.com,
- The Oshkosh-Neenah, WI metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market for the first time in the data’s history.
- Prices were stable nationwide but the month’s hottest markets saw more substantial price growth (+11.0%) due to high demand and scarce for-sale inventory.
- The Northeast and the Midwest were the only regions on this month’s list with 10 markets each. July’s list is the 10th in a row that only contains Northeast and Midwest markets.
- The Las Vegas metro area saw the biggest jump in its hotness ranking among large US metros compared to last year, climbing 73 spots to rank as the 184th hottest US market in July.
The Oshkosh-Neenah, WI metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market in July for the first time in the data’s history. The Oshkosh metro heated up over the last few months, climbing from the 20th ranked market in May to the 4th in June and the first in July. Though Oshkosh had not topped the list before July, it has been a mainstay of the top 20 for the last year.
Realtor.com’s Market Hotness rankings take into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique views per property on Realtor.com, and 2) the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains active on Realtor.com.
Price Growth Accelerates in Hottest Markets
Both price growth and demand outpace the national trend in the hottest markets. Home prices were flat year-over-year nationally in July, but the hottest markets saw still-climbing prices. Price growth in the hottest markets picked up from 8.1% in June to an average 11.0% in July as competition heated up. Demand, as measured by views per property, was 2.8 times the national level in the hottest markets in July, the same as the previous month.
This month’s hottest market, Oshkosh-Neenah, WI, saw 3.7 times the listing viewership as was typical in the U.S. in July and prices in the metro climbed 15.0% year-over-year.
While active listings were up 36.6% year-over-year nationally in July, the hottest markets saw more subdued listing growth. On average, the 20 hottest markets saw inventory increase 18.4% year-over-year in July. Inventory was roughly 30% below pre-pandemic levels in July nationally, but the hottest markets saw an average 66.9% decrease in inventory in the same time period.
High demand and scarce inventory conditions drive views-per-property higher, upping the competition for homes in the hottest markets, and leading to snappier home sales. Homes in the hottest markets sold an average of 5 days faster than last year and roughly half the national median in July, with homes in these locales spending just 26 days on the market.
