These are the 5 hottest housing markets in Tampa Bay

ZIP code 33701, which includes downtown St. Petersburg, was the hottest housing market in Tampa Bay for the third quarter.

That's according to The Business Journals' latest quarterly analysis of the country’s hottest housing markets based on listing and sales data from Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

The ranking is intended to emphasize sales and pricing momentum in each ZIP code, using a weighted formula that includes quarterly and year-over-year data. Only ZIP codes with complete data, an average sales price of at least $425,000 and at least 10 sales during the quarter were considered for the ranking.

The ranking isn’t meant to highlight the most expensive or the most popular markets, although some of those are on the list. Instead, the ranking spotlights ZIP codes where activity is surging, prices are dramatically rising or homes are selling at a faster pace.

In addition to ranking first locally, 33701 was No. 16 in the country and fifth nationally among luxury markets, or those with an average sale price of $1.5 million or higher. Here are the details on Tampa Bay’s hottest market, 33701:

The five hottest ZIP codes in Tampa Bay were:

America's hottest housing markets

Home sales have slowed in many parts of the country, most noticeably in Covid-era hotspots that doubled down on new construction. In some cases, frustrated sellers are even deciding to delist their homes rather than face steep price cuts.

But there are still plenty of hot housing markets both locally and across the nation. Despite a multitude of challenges and a shifting market, the national average for days on the market was essentially flat — inching up from 84 in the second quarter to 85 in the third quarter.

The nation’s hottest housing market for the third quarter was New Concord, Ohio, ZIP code 43762, part of the Zanesville metro area. In the past five years, sales-price momentum surged 479% in that ZIP code. The average list price for the third quarter was $275,857, while the average sale price was $969,990.

Among the top 10 hottest markets nationally, the average sale price was $1.3 million, well above the national third-quarter average of $515,977, according to The Business Journals' data.

Market downshifts to “much slower gear”

Analysis from Cotality’s Case-Schiller Home Price Index, released on September 30, showed some notable changes in the housing market.

"July's results reinforce that the housing market has downshifted to a much slower gear," said Nicholas Godec, head of fixed income tradeables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement. "National home prices rose just 1.7% year-over-year, down from June's 1.9% pace and a far cry from the double-digit gains of two years ago."

Godec said it was one of the weakest annual price increases of the past decade — and notably below the 2.7% rise in consumer prices over the same period.

"In other words, U.S. home values have essentially stagnated after inflation, marking the third straight month of real housing wealth decline for homeowners," Godec said.

Meanwhile, more recent data from Freddie Mac showed mortgage rates are on the decline. A 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.27% for the week ending October 16, down from 6.30% the previous week. The rate on a 15-year fixed-rate loan averaged 5.52%, down from 5.53%.

However, buyers in some regions may still be sidelined by affordability issues. 

A recent report from Realtor.com revealed that most major housing markets are now unaffordable to middle-income Americans. Only a few large metros — St. Louis, Detroit and Pittsburgh — still have home prices affordable to households earning those areas' median income.

Additionally, the median list price for homes nationally in September was $425,000, which would require more than 40% of a median U.S. household income to afford. For decades, it's been widely established that Americans should avoid spending more than 30% of their income on housing-related costs.

READ SOURCE ARTICLE HERE:   www.bizjournals.com 

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