The Hottest Housing Market Is ...

Once again, California dominates Realtor.com’s monthly hottest housing markets list—but after months in the number one position, San Francisco has been displaced as the hottest market by Valencia, Calif.

The May list of hottest housing markets found California metro areas occupying 10 of the top 20 slots. But Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com, noted a pleasant surprise at two Michigan metro areas—Ann Arbor in eleventh place and Detroit in nineteenth place—on the list.

“It’s a very affordable market now, benefiting from economic growth and a bit of renaissance,” Smoke observes.

Smoke stated that the most recent housing data was pointing to a vibrant (if pricey) summer sales season.

“The past three months have set new records,” he continued. “Prior to that, the highest median list price was July last year. This spring’s real estate market is coming in strong, just as we expected. Pent-up demand and low mortgage rates are driving consumers into the market with urgency. However, the recurring issue of limited supply is leading to higher prices.”

As for the troublesome question of inventory, Smoke observed that more than 550,000 listings were added to the market so far in May, yet the inventory level is four percent lower than it was one year ago.