Are home buyers favoring the Midwest? Home buyer activity is shifting from pricey California to affordable markets across the country. Nearly a third of the markets on realtor.com®’s latest hottest housing market list were in the Midwest, known for its affordable housing compared with many other parts of the country.
“With the median home list price hovering at a record level, affordable markets are very attractive for buyers, which is contributing to the popularity of many Midwestern markets,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com®. “Although construction is increasing in many regions, inventory remains scarce due to strong buyer demand and years of under-building. Even these affordable markets run the risk of what we’ve seen elsewhere if they aren’t able to keep pace with new construction.”
Markets like Fort Wayne, Ind., and Columbus, Ohio, landed on this month’s top 10 list for hottest housing markets. The combined median list price in the Midwest is well below the national average.
Midland, Texas, continued to reign as the nation’s hottest housing market for the fourth consecutive month, according to realtor.com®’s July rankings, which are based on top searches at the real estate website and fastest home sales. The median age of inventory in Midland is just 29 days, and homes are garnering 2.4 times more listing views than the rest of the country.
The combined median list price in the top 20 list was $344,000. But Midwest cities within the top 20 had a combined median list price of $236,000.
The top-performing housing markets in July were:
