California continues to have one of the most desirable and competitive housing markets in the nation, but a new study suggests that the hot housing market might be cooling in some cities.
SmartAsset, an online hub for consumer finance information, analyzed the top 100 housing markets in the U.S. and found that some California metropolitan areas are cooling off significantly faster than other cities.
Three California metro areas were in the study’s top 10 for cooling markets.
The San Jose/Santa Clara metro area came in at fourth on the list — the highest of all California cities. Smartasset points to a high number of price reductions on homes as well as lower demand.
“Houses are on the market for roughly 19 days (eighth-highest), which is a 90% increase since exactly one-year ago (18th-highest). There has also been a 43.17% decrease in the number of houses sold and 26.81% of current listings have a price cut,” according to the study.
Coming in at No. 8, and the second California metro area on the list, is San Diego.
“America’s Finest City” saw a 35% decline in houses sold compared to one year ago, and houses that do go up for sale are staying on the market for twice as long in some situations.
Rounding out the top 10 is Stockton. The county seat of San Joaquin County is seeing similar issues as the other cities on the list; homes are staying on the market longer than in the previous year and homeowners are having to slash prices to get their properties sold. More than one-third of all homes on the market over the last year have had a price cut, the study found.
But no city is experiencing the effects of a stagnant housing market worse than Boise, Idaho.
Once a hotspot for people wanting to leave the big city life behind during the pandemic, the housing market in Idaho’s capital is icy — to say the least.
“Boise has the sixth-lowest ratio of number of sold houses to new listings (0.49), meaning that almost twice as many houses are being listed relative to ones that are sold,” according to SmartAsset. The study also found that homes were staying on the market 186% longer than in the previous year.
Austin, Texas, another “getaway” city during the pandemic, came in at No. 2 and Phoenix, Arizona landed at No. 3.
As for Angelenos, the housing market is still chugging along but it is showing some signs of slowing.
The Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim metro area came in 24th on the list, mainly due to decreased demand.
Other California regions made the list as well. The Inland Empire landed at No. 17, San Francisco at No. 25, Fresno at No. 37 and Bakersfield came in at No. 42, respectively.
For a complete list of which housing markets are cooling, and to read more about the study’s methodology, click here.
With mortgage rates hitting new highs, many people are shying away from dipping their toes into the market, but SmartAsset suggests now might be as good a time as any to buy a home before things start heating up once again.