In this December edition of the RealtyHop Market Health Report, we investigate the strength of the 100 largest housing markets across the United States. To do this, we analyzed over 300,000 real estate listings on RealtyHop to calculate the “market health” of each city. Specifically, the difference in price between when real estate listings are first put on the market and when they are eventually sold. In theory, stronger markets should exhibit fewer price drops and smaller percentage discounts, while weaker markets should show the opposite. Our results explore this metric and shed light on the market health of cities across the U.S. right now.
The 5 Hottest Housing Markets
1. Chandler, Arizona came in as the hottest housing market for the first time ever this month, leaping over neighboring Gilbert. Listings in the city required only a 1.82% average price reduction to sell, equating to -$9,100 in dollar terms.
2. Gilbert, Arizona while no longer the top city, still saw a strong market this December, with real estate requiring only a 1.85% price drop to sell.
3. Irvine, California remained the third hottest housing market in the country, with an average price drop per listing of $20,088, or 2% off the initial list price. This was similar to last month’s 2.02% statistic.
4. Henderson, Nevada increased one spot to take fourth place, with listings in the city requiring only a 2.06% reduction to be taken off the market. This marked a slight improvement from November’s 2.10%.
5. Las Vegas, Nevada jumped two spots this month to take fifth place. The city’s numbers were unsurprisingly similar to nearby Henderson, experiencing an average drop per listing of $8,000, or 2.09% of the initial list price.
The 5 Coldest Housing Markets
1. Detroit, Michigan saw the lowest housing demand of any city this December. Despite ranking cold once again, the city did see improvement this month. Real estate listings required a 6.8% price drop in order to sell, which was better than the 7.39% seen in November.
2. Buffalo, New York experienced a similar market health to last month, as property in the city required a $10,000 price drop to be taken off the market. This equated to a 5.59% reduction off of the original list price.
3. Laredo, Texas continued its slide on our ranking, dipping one more spot to become the third coldest housing market. The average listing sold in Laredo over the past month saw a $10,000 price drop, or about 5.39% off the original asking price.
4. Newark, New Jerseyfell three spots in our rankings to become the fourth coldest market. The city’s property saw listings require a median 5.01% reduction to be taken off the market, or a $14,500 drop in dollar terms.
5. Cleveland, Ohio improved over the past month, despite having the fifth lowest housing demand of any city in the country. The average listing in Cleveland required a 5% price drop to be taken off of the market, equating to a $5,100 price reduction per listing.
Methodology
The RealtyHop Market Health Index analyzes proprietary data gathered from RealtyHop over the month prior to publication, providing a snapshot of housing market health across the 100 most populous cities in the United States. Price changes are taken from over 300,000 real estate listings on RealtyHop to identify each city’s “market health” based on the change in asking prices over the past month.
To calculate the index, the following datapoints were used:
1) Median home price taken from 300,000 listings on RealtyHop.com over the course of the prior month to publication
2) Median price change per listing: the median amount the asking price per listing changed prior to being sold or taken off the market
3) Median price change as a percentage of total sales price: the percentage of the total home price that the price change represents
Full Dataset
Cities are ranked in descending order by Median Percentage Price Change.
