Top 20 List of the Hottest Real Estate Markets

Are you ready for the housing market's Endless Summer? At least it might feel endless, because there seems to be no end in sight for the national housing shortage now that we're waist-deep in the busiest season for buying and selling, according to a preliminary analysis of June data by realtor.com®.

With limited growth in for-sale homes, prices remained high. Just a few months ago, the nationwide median home price pushed above $250,000 for the first time. We're predicting it will hit $275,000 when we close out June—an increase of 9% since one year ago.

“The housing market has now gone 24 months in a row seeing inventory drop on a yearly basis, the longest streak in over two decades," said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research at realtor.com, in a statement. The shortage is hitting even more markets, he added—8 out of every 10 have fewer homes for sale now than this time last year.


June 2017 Hot List:

Rank (June)	20 Hottest Markets	Rank (May)	Rank Change
1	Vallejo, CA	1	0
2	San Francisco, CA	2	0
3	Kennewick, WA	5	2
4	Sacramento, CA	4	0
5	Columbus, OH	7	2
6	Detroit, MI	18	12
7	Boston, MA	3	-4
8	Colorado Springs, CO	6	-2
9	San Jose, CA	7	-2
10	San Diego, CA	16	6
11	Dallas, TX	12	1
12	Waco, TX	30	18
13	Grand Rapids, MI	13	0
14	Stockton, CA	10	-4
15	Midland, TX	8	-7
16	Fort Wayne, IN	11	-5
17	Santa Rosa, CA	19	2
18	Denver, CO	17	-1
19	Yuba City, CA	21	2
20	Modesto, CA	23	3

And that shortage is reflected in how fast homes are snapped up. Properties in June spend a median 60 days on the market—the same level as May, but five days faster than in June 2016.

It's not that homes aren't being listed for sale—in fact, 536,000 new listings entered the market in June. But total inventory is substantially lower than one year ago, at 11%. Plus, those new listings are primarily in the upper tier of the market, leaving middle- and lower-income buyers to fight it out over what's left.

"Most of this fresh inventory isn’t addressing the largest, most desperate group of buyers," said Vivas. "With no clear hints of new construction providing short-term relief, there appears to be no end to the inventory shortage on the horizon."

Amid all this, Vivas' team assessed the country's biggest metropolitan markets to find which were buzzing the most with buyer activity, in terms of listings clicked on our site and homes speeding off the market on their way to new owners. As is the norm in recent years, our top 20 is a list dominated by California, but seven other states made a showing, and a couple of big movers hail from the Midwest.

The top two spots are still held by the double threat of Vallejo, CA, and its infinitely swankier neighbor to the south, San Francisco. The San Francisco Bay Area's economic influence reached eastward to Sacramento, which has absorbed many San Franciscans fleeing that city's high prices. Sacramento sits at No. 4 on our hot list, after Kennewick, WA. And Columbus, OH, reached the top five for the first time in our ranking. Detroit, which fell just short of joining the club, moved up an impressive 12 spots since last month.