Three Sun Belt Cities Rank as the Hottest U.S. Housing Markets

Housing markets throughout the U.S. remain very active as looming mortgage rate increases prompt more buyers to search for homes, according to a Realtor.com report released Thursday.

In December, median listing prices across the U.S. rose 10% year over year to $375,000, with more than one-quarter of large metros posting double-digit price growth, according to the monthly report.

The Las Vegas metro, including areas surrounding the city, Henderson and Paradise, Nevada, saw the largest price increase. Median listing price there soared to $450,000 in December, a 32.4% increase from a year ago.

The metro area of Austin and Round Rock, Texas, ranked second, with an annual listing price increase of 28.8% to a median $544,000.

Third place was claimed by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area of Florida, where median listing price rose 25.4% year over year to $376,000.

“Annual listing-price growth hit double-digits again nationwide and in many of the hottest markets, after four months of single-digit pace this fall,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in the report.

Despite rising prices and limited inventory, “real estate activity maintained a brisk pace throughout 2021 as factors like low mortgage rates enabled home shoppers to persist,” she noted.

Nationwide, active listings—the number of homes available at any point during the month—fell 26.8% compared to December 2020, representing 177,000 fewer for-sale homes, according to the report.

With homeowners staying put, new listings dropped 6.1% during the same period, marking the fourth consecutive month of a decline, the report said.

“With rate hikes now on the horizon, buyers may be trying to get ahead of higher monthly housing costs, in turn driving up competition and prices,” Ms. Hale said.

Mansion Global is owned by Dow Jones. Both Dow Jones and Realtor.com are owned by News Corp.

via Mansion Global