Top 20 Hottest Real Estate Markets in March

March came in like a lion, but definitely did not go out like a lamb. If you’re looking to read something familiar in the chaos, take a look at Realtor.com's latest top 20 real estate markets for March. Though the list covered the West, Midwest, and Northeast, the cities were in just 10 states. Realtor.com cautions that the list is not fully reflective of the current situation in light of the coronavirus pandemic. To see the virus’ effect, builders will have to wait about a month. But for now, see if your city made the list or dream about your next business venture once the country stabilizes.

Has there ever been such a head-spinning month in American history as March 2020? Over the course of 31 days that felt like a lifetime, we went from sympathy and mild concern for the sufferings of Chinese and then Italian victims of the coronavirus, to growing alarm, panic buying, shelter-in-place orders, a tanking economy, and a growing toll of U.S. deaths.

Of course, the real estate industry has been affected as well, as people put off all but the most important home sales and purchases. As we at realtor.com look back at the markets seeing the most real estate activity in March overall, we're assessing which trends will continue to hold true this year—and which are likely to change because of the pandemic.

“The top 20 list for March is not fully reflective of the effect of the coronavirus,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com. “We’re still about a month away from seeing how supply and demand are going to play out at the local level.”

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