If you are not keeping up, according to available data 2023 was America’s worst year for home sales in roughly 30 years. But, as we approach the spring homebuying season (a ramp-up to the busiest season of the year, summer) Creditnews Research ranked the fastest-selling housing markets in America’s top 100 metropolitan areas.
It should be noted that the COVID-19 Pandemic have thrown some lesser-known cities to the top of the list due to pandemic migration trends as people were given the option to work from home to reduce the spread of the virus—and due to that some people chose to move to places that better fit their needs and wants.
This study also compared how cities compared to pre-pandemic times—in fact, none of the 10 fastest-selling metros before Covid made it to the best-selling list today, and vice versa. For example, today’s top-selling metro Hartford ranked just 48th before Covid. Part of the reason behind this realignment is different inventory levels across the nation—which, Creditnews found, has a strong connection with how fast listings sell.
Key findings:
- The top 10 fastest-selling metro areas of 2024 are all located on the East Coast and Midwest, with Hartford, CT, Rochester, NY, Syracuse, NY, Harrisburg, PA, and Richmond, PA coming out on top;
- Five of the top 10 fastest-selling metros were also among the top 10 areas that lost the most per-capita housing inventory since the beginning of Covid;
- The top 10 slowest-selling metro areas are Austin, TX, McAllen, TX, Poughkeepsie, NY, San Antonio, TX, New Orleans, LA, Jacksonville, FL, Cape Coral, FL, Colorado Springs, CO, Deltona, FL, and New York, NY;
- Seven of the top 10 slowest-selling metro areas are located in southern states, and three of them are located in Texas: Austin, McAllen, and San Antonio;
- Austin, TX, is also the biggest Covid “loser,” with its median listing requiring 66 days to sell, compared to 23 before Covid;
- The biggest Covid “winner” is Hartford, CT, with its median days-to-pending marking a major drop from 52 days to eight days between January 2020 and January 2024;
- There’s a strong correlation between housing inventory and selling pace between January 2020 and January 2024.
More housing details on the fastest-selling metros:
- Hartford, Connecticut: As of January 2024, the fastest-selling housing market had a median days-to-pending of eight days, down from 52 days in January 2020. That’s the biggest percentage drop (-84.62%) of all the metros in the study. Hartford also posted the second-biggest decline in per-capita housing inventory since Covid.
- Rochester, New York: The Upstate New York city of Rochester has a median days-to-pending of nine days, which makes it tied with the next two cities on the list. That represents a decline of 73.53% compared to January 2020. Rochester also posted the fifth largest percentage drop in inventory per capita compared to pre-Covid.
- Syracuse, New York: The Central New York city of Syracuse has a median days-to-pending of only nine days as of January 2024, down 82.69% compared to four years earlier. That’s the second-biggest decline of any metro. Syracuse saw the sixth-largest percentage drop in per-capita housing inventory over the study period.
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: This Pennsylvania city also has a median days-to-pending of nine days, down 60.87% compared to January 2020.
- Richmond, Virginia: Between January 2020 and January 2024, Richmond saw its median days-to-pending decline by 66.67%, from 33 to 11 days.
- Grand Rapids, Michigan: The only Michigan city in the top 10, Grand Rapids has a median days-to-pending of 11 days—down 60.71% from pre-Covid levels.
- New Haven, Connecticut: Also at 11 days, New Haven’s median days-to-pending for a single-family home has declined by 74.42% over the four-year period.
- Boston, Massachusetts: Despite being one of the country’s most expensive housing markets, Boston real estate remains red hot. Beantown’s median days-to-pending is just 12 days—down 55.56% compared to January 2020. Boston is also the biggest metro in the study, ranking 10th in the country.
- Columbus, Ohio: The second-biggest metro in the top 10 is Columbus, which also has a median days-to-pending of 12 days. That’s a 29.41% decline compared to pre-Covid levels.
- Worcester, Massachusetts: Located about an hour away from Boston, this mid-sized city also makes it in the top 10 fastest-selling housing markets, with median days-to-pending of 12 days. That’s a 50% decline compared to January 2020.
Click here to read the entire report, including the top 10 slowest selling metropolitan areas.
