Housing's Polar Vortex

In January 2019, the hottest real estate markets in the nation cooled down, while other markets' activity increased. A new study finds that Midland, Texas was the hottest market for the month.

The hottest U.S. markets typically have home sales pace that runs about 14 to 55 days faster than typical properties. Not so for the first month of this year. Four of the five markets that posted the greatest gains in the ranking had a lower median list price than the national median ($289,300): Cincinnati, up 47 spots; Cleveland, up 54; Milwaukee was up 38 ranks, and Philadelphia rose 34. Javier Vivas, director of economic research for Realtor.com explains, "Availability of affordable inventory is what's driving the markets that are catching up," and to expect "market hotness [to] become more geographically balanced."

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.

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