When it comes to supply and demand, metro San Diego was the eighth hottest city for real estate in the United States in May, said a monthly report from Realtor.com.
This article was originally posted by Phillip Molnar for the San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego County jumped five spots from April to make the Top 10 of the website’s hotness index. It was the highest it ranked in May since Realtor.com launched the study three years ago.
The Vallejo-Fairfield market was ranked first and San Francisco was second.
Realtor.com decides what are the hottest markets by looking at homes’ days on market, which is based on how long listings stay online and the number of page views per listing on its website.
Realtor.com Hotness Index
1. Fairfield, Calif. 2. San Francisco-Oakland- Hayward, Calf. 3. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. 4. Santa Rosa, Calif. 5. Stockton-Lodi, Calif. 6. Dallas-Fort Worth -Arlington, Texas 3. Sacramento-Roseville -Arden-Arcade, Calif. 4. San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. 5. San Jose-Sunnyvale- Santa Clara, Calif. 6. Columbus, Ohio Sources: Realtor.com
The median online listing time for a home in San Diego County was 37 days on market, down from 41 the month before. It had reached the No. 5 hotness spot, its highest ever, on the list in January. San Diego averages around 10.
Although what may considered a “hot” market for some, particularly sellers, might not be others.
“Market hotness has very different meanings,” said Javier Vivas, economic researcher for Realtor.com. “In our very basic interpretation, we’re simply saying there is pent up demand and limited supply.”
A lack of homes for sale, coupled with job growth and low interest rates, have pushed home prices up 6.4 percent in the last 12 months in San Diego County — making purchasing a home increasingly difficult for first-time buyers. The median home price here was $489,000 in April, said real estate tracker CoreLogic.
The hot ranking does not include affordability, which can make the home market seem less appealing to a large portion of residents. Just 28 percent of households can afford a median-priced home in San Diego County, said the latest report from the California Association of Realtors.
Vivas said the ranking uses data from Realtor.com, which uses active listings of condos, new and resale homes from area Multiple Listing Service feeds.
California dominated the top 20 hottest markets list with 10 areas. Denver, Dallas and Columbia were the only areas outside California to make the top 10.
phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar
This article was originally posted by the San Diego Union Tribune and can be found HERE.
