In this January 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 — 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 each major city across the U.S. right now.
The 5 Hottest Housing Markets
1. Chandler, Arizona was the hottest housing market in the country, taking the top spot for the second month in a row. Real estate in the city required a low 1.8% average price reduction in order to sell, or about $9,000 in dollar terms.
2. Gilbert, Arizona remained strong this January, despite a softening in the real estate market over the past month. Listings in Gilbert required an average $10,000 price drop to sell, equating to a 2% reduction from the initial list price.
3. Henderson, Nevada moved up one spot to become the third hottest housing market in the US. The city experienced a strong buyer demand, and a low 2.02% average price drop per listing. In dollar terms, this represented an $8,000 reduction per property.
4. Irvine, California dropped one spot to fourth place on our rankings this month. Despite this, the city’s real estate market remains strong, with properties only requiring a 2.09% average reduction to be taken off the market.
5. Las Vegas, Nevada remained in fifth place, after breaking into our hottest markets list for the first time in December. Demand in Las Vegas held strong, as listings maintained their initial asking prices. A low 2.11% price reduction was all it took for the average property to sell over the period.
The 5 Coldest Housing Markets
1. Detroit, Michigan was the coldest market once again this month, as listings required deep price cuts in order to be sold. The average price reduction in January was $6,531 per listing, or about 6.94% of the total asking price.
2. Buffalo, New York remained the second coldest housing market in the US, with real estate requiring a 5.46% price reduction to be sold or taken off the market. In dollar terms, this equated to a -$10,000 price change per property.
3. Laredo, Texas settled at third place after a slide in our rankings over the past two months. Real estate in Laredo required a $9,000 average price reduction in order to sell, equating to 5.39% off of the initial list price.
4. Newark, New Jersey remained stable after falling three spots in our ranking last month. The city saw property require a hefty $29,000 average price reduction to sell, or about 5.3% of the initial list price of each home.
5. Cleveland, Ohio rounded out our five coldest markets, with its real estate remaining stable through the past month. An average home in the city required a $5,000 price drop to be sold, or about 5% of the initial list price.
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.
