While you’ve undoubtedly heard talk about “hot” real-estate markets, you may not know what that exactly means. After all, is a market hot because it’s in a desirable location, because its conditions are ripe for buyers, or because competition is high and it’s good for sellers? Well, according to Danielle Hale, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, hotness is a measure of supply versus demand. “Looking at markets by hotness tells us the strength of demand versus supply in each area relative to others and which markets heavily favor sellers,” Hale said. In other words, a hot market is one where homes sell quickly, list prices are climbing, and price reductions are falling. Hot markets generally see homes selling in fewer than the 66-day national average and garner between two and four times the number of viewers as homes in markets elsewhere. These days, the hottest markets are found in the Northeast and Midwest, where affordable prices and fewer available listings have raised the temperature heading into the spring season. (source)
