Nationally, for-sale inventory remains low, down 8 percent from January 2017. However, roughly 365,000 new listings are expected on the market by the end of January 2018, up 3 percent from last year.
In January, San Francisco topped San Jose as the hottest real estate market in the U.S. San Jose came in second, followed by Vallejo, California, north of San Francisco. Overall, California had 13 out of the top 20 spots in Realtor.com's ranking. The real estate site reports that Chico, California, and Midland, Texas, each moved up 13 spots since December 2017's ranking, "Midland cracked the top five for the first time since early 2015, while Chico hasn't seen the top 20 since April."
"A strong stock market run, new tax laws, and a government shutdown have given buyers and sellers plenty to digest as they come to terms with the new economic landscape and their personal situation," said Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com. "While the national picture remains largely unchanged, real estate remains more local than ever, and demand and supply dynamics are rapidly shifting across the country..."