Home listing prices traditionally rise at the start of spring as the housing market moves into its prime buying and selling season. New data show that median prices are already at $275,000, which was the peak price in summer 2017.
The supply crunch of available housing, down 8 percent year-over-year in February 2018, along with rising list prices, are helping to speed up the rate of buying. Homes were purchased 8 percent faster year-over-year in February, at a median 83 days on the market. “Rapid mortgage rate jumps, and confirmation of a brighter economic outlook have inflated the pool of homebuyers early in the year, putting an extra squeeze on the entry-level market," says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at Realtor.com.
While San Francisco held onto its top spot this month, Midland, TX, jumped from its No. 5 spot in January to No. 2, breaking up the California clique at the top. Still, California accounted for 13 of the top 20 markets ... The biggest movers were Spokane, WA, which jumped 13 spots from January, and Fort Wayne, IN, which moved up nine. Spokane has been attracting buyers fleeing high prices in Seattle.
