Bay Area Real Estate Ends 2015 on a Hot Note

Like in previous months, more than half of the nation’s most in-demand real estate markets are located in California as December comes to a close, with Bay Area cities claiming the top three spots. In a recurring monthly analysis, Realtor.com names the 20 hottest housing markets in the U.S. based on listing views on its website and where homes are selling the fastest. Eleven of those hot markets can be found in California, based on data from the first three weeks of December, and Golden State real estate should continue to command plenty of interest in the coming year. “Pent-up demand and robust economic growth, combined with limited supply, will keep California tight in 2016, but more markets will challenge them as demand improves elsewhere,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said in a statement accompanying the report. For the second straight month, San Francisco topped Realtor.com’s list of scorching markets, with a median list price of $748,000, the second highest of 20 cities and more than three times the national median list price of $228,000. San Jose, the nation’s second-hottest real estate market, is also the most expensive, with a median list price of $848,000. Vallejo ranks No. 3, down from No. 2 in November. With a median list price of $384,000, the Solano County city is about half as expensive as its larger neighbors to the west and south. Sacramento landed in the No. 5 spot, followed by San Diego (No. 6), Santa Rosa (No. 8), Yuba City (No. 9), Stockton (No. 10), Los Angeles (No. 11), Oxnard (No. 12), and Modesto (No. 15). All 11 California cities were among the country’s 20 hottest in November, while Santa Cruz dropped off the list this month. Realtor.com says that homes in cities on its hot list sell 29 to 51 days faster than the nationwide average of 93 days. Combined, these markets have seen average days on the market decline by 15 percent on an annual basis. The Bay Area’s largest two real estate markets are moving nearly twice as fast as the rest of the country, with homes selling in 47 days in San Jose and 49 days in San Francisco. In the Central Valley, where demand for homes is growing as more buyers head inland to score bargains, the pace of sales is even quicker: 42 days in Stockton, 43 days in Modesto, and 44 days in Sacramento.
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