Cold Front Moves In on the Hottest Real Estate Markets for January 2019

It seems like the chilling polar vortex enveloping much of the U.S. has hit real estate as well. In the first month of 2019, the nation’s hottest markets were, well, not so hot, according to our monthly analysis of realtor.com® data.

Nationwide, the housing market is definably slowing down, with homes spending more time on the market and prices growing more slowly than in recent months. The realtor.com economic data team identified the 20 markets where listings get the most views and homes sell fastest, but that hot list includes both markets that are still going gangbusters and those that are sinking from their previous heights.

Homes in America’s hottest markets sell 14 to 55 days more quickly than the typical properties overall. But it’s not the big cities that are seeing all the action these days—a different kind of market is on the rise.

“Availability of affordable inventory is what’s driving the markets that are catching up,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com. The No. 1 market for January is Midland, TX.

Four of the five markets that rose the most in the ranking have a lower median list price than the national median of $289,300. Those markets were Cleveland, up 54 spots; Cincinnati, up 47 spots; Milwaukee, up 38 spots; and Philadelphia, up 34 spots. Charlotte, NC, which rose 31 spots, was just above the national median price, at $320,000.

It’s a trend that’s likely to continue.

“We’re going to see market hotness become more geographically balanced,” Vivas says.

For example, California still had the most metros on the list of any state, but its traditional powerhouses—including San Francisco, San Jose, and Vallejo—have lost standing. Instead, smaller and more affordable markets like Yuba City and Chico have seen gains. Both are seeing strong demand from buyers displaced by December’s Camp fire. Yuba moved up 24 spots, while Chico rose 12.

“California is generally still hot by definition, but many of those markets are not boiling hot anymore,” Vivas observes.

The hot list

Rank	20 Hottest Markets	Rank YY	Median Days on Market
1	Midland, TX	3	49
2	Chico, CA	12	33
3	San Francisco, CA	-2	50
4	Fort Wayne, IN	17	67
5	Colorado Springs, CO	0	63
6	Sacramento, CA	2	64
7	Yuba City, CA	24	67
8	Columbus, OH	8	69
9	Spokane, WA	21	68
10	Odessa, TX	17	63
11	Dallas, TX	1	67
12	Vallejo, CA	-9	61
13	Rochester, NY	10	72
14	Stockton, CA	-4	61
15	Modesto, CA	-4	57
16	Milwaukee, WI	38	69
17	Fresno, CA	-2	63
18	Boston, MA	4	74
19	Detroit, MI	0	66
20	Louisville, KY	20	69

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