The strongest real estate sales activity during the fourth quarter will likely be in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Colorado Springs, Colo. and in Manchester-Nashua, N.H., according to ATTOM Data Solutions 2017 Pre-Mover Housing Index.
ATTOM’s index shows the markets with the highest pre-mover indices during the third quarter, and is predictive of strong sales activity in the fourth quarter.
The aforementioned top five markets all posted a pre-mover index of 196 or higher, ATTOM found. An index score above 100 is above the national average and indicates an above-average ratio of homes that will likely be sold in the next 30 to 90 days.
“Home buyers are most likely to move — and homeowners are more likely to move up — in markets with plenty of available jobs along with a reasonable supply of homes for sale,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a release. “Markets with this enviable and increasingly rare combination of jobs and housing inventory tend to be in secondary and even tertiary markets that are somewhat off the beaten path. Even in more mainstream markets, the counties with the highest pre-mover indices tend to be in outlying areas where more inventory is available or can be built.”
According to the index, other markets in the top 10 were Reno, Nev. (189); Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (188); Las Vegas (180); Jacksonville, Fla. (179); and Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn. (178).
The metropolitan areas with the lowest pre-mover indices in the third quarter were Rochester, N.Y. (35); Akron, Ohio (47); Myrtle Beach, S.C. (47); Providence, R.I. (52); and Cleveland (52).
The index identified the markets likely to have the strongest sales of second homes as Myrtle Beach, S.C. (14.2 percent); Asheville, N.C. (10.7 percent); Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla. (10.3 percent); Atlantic City (9.6 percent); and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla (9.4 percent).
The index identified the best fourth-quarter markets for investment properties as Memphis (29.9 percent); Jackson, Miss. (13.7 percent); Boulder, Colo. 12.6 percent); Indianapolis (11.0 percent); and Kansas City, Mo. (9.2 percent).