These Regional Markets Are Still Seeing Rapid Sales

Despite rising mortgage rates and limited housing inventory, many U.S. buyers are rushing to close deals in a select number of regional markets. Nationally, the median home listing spent 49 days on the market during the first week of October, only slightly less than the previous year, according to Realtor.com.

But some areas are experiencing significantly faster sales, driven by buyers eager to secure homes before competition increases amid still-rising mortgage rates and persistently high home prices. Buffalo, N.Y., and Phoenix, lead the board with the fastest home sales in 2023, with homes selling 13 days faster than they did one year ago. Even markets such as Oxnard, Calif., where homes sell for a median list price of $875,000, saw listings disappear 11 days faster in 2023 than in 2022.

The housing market in the Buffalo metro area has experienced a surge in recent months. Homes have been selling almost two weeks faster than they did a year ago, more than any other metro in the nation.

Buyers are worried rates will continue to go up, says [Matthew] Roland.

“Buyers are thinking, ‘I need to make an offer either the day a home goes on the market or soon after, so I can get my home and lock in a rate before it goes up,'” he says.

Homes in Buffalo are about $200,000 less than the national median of $429,500 in September, according to Realtor.com data. Inventory here is extremely tight.

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