Realtor.com® Data: Fastest Moving Markets Are Home to High Populations of Engineers and Baby Boomers

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Oct 20, 2014, 09:00 ET

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As real estate enters the seasonally slower fall, properties in 12 major metro areas are still selling quickly, less than two months on the market, according to the realtor.com® September National Housing Trend Report released today. These markets also demonstrate strength in standard economic indicators and share unexpected commonalities, including large populations of engineers and baby boomers. The 12 markets include: Oakland, CA; San Jose, CA; San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV(DC); Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA; Houston, TX; Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA; Austin-San Marcos, TX; Omaha, NE-IA(NE); San Diego, CA; and Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL. Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE) operates realtor.com®.

"When we see homes moving quickly in a particular market, we expect the trend to be supported by signs of local health like growth in economic production and employment," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. "This month, we also observed more out of the ordinary trends including high proportions of math and science professionals, as well as baby boomers in each of the fast moving markets. As the technology industry grows and aging baby boomers decide to make housing moves to support their retirement, we'll continue to see strong housing demand associated with these factors."

Markets with the Fastest Median Age of Inventory

MSA	Median Age of Inventory	% YY	%MM	Median Listing Price	% YY	%MM	Total Listings	% YY	% MM
Oakland, CA	35 days	25.00%	6.06%	$500,000	4.18%	-1.95%	4,175	9.24%	-5.56%
San Jose, CA	36 days	-20.00%	-7.69%	$718,000	10.47%	2.57%	2,050	-36.24%	-29.33%
San Francisco, CA	36 days	-20.00%	-14.29%	$949,000	15.87%	6.03%	2,397	-23.37%	-5.48%
Denver, CO	37 days	-17.78%	12.12%	$369,900	19.36%	3.90%	7,119	-18.56%	-3.61%
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV(DC)	40 days	-23.08%	-25.93%	$469,000	-0.21%	4.45%	1,474	-24.99%	-18.56%
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA	51 days	-1.92%	15.91%	$399,950	5.26%	0.01%	7,840	7.71%	1.10%
Houston, TX	54 days	-15.63%	3.85%	$247,006	23.07%	0.86%	16,386	-25.21%	-25.00%
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA	56 days	1.82%	-6.67%	$499,000	6.40%	0.00%	17,720	-9.95%	-21.27%
Austin-San Marcos, TX	56 days	-15.15%	-3.45%	$294,950	13.49%	1.74%	7,196	-18.75	-25.60%
Omaha, NE-IA(NE)	56 days	-8.20%	7.69%	$165,000	10.07%	0.00%	3,307	-8.34%	0.98%
San Diego, CA	59 days	7.27%	7.27%	$489,900	8.87%	-1.82%	9,568	7.63%	-2.76%
Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL	59 days	-7.81%	-13.24%	$165,000	0.00%	-1.17%	3,684	0.68%	-34.03%

Income and occupation: Each market can be considered a land of opportunity with higher median incomes and larger proportions of six-figure salaries when compared to national averages. When examining local occupation distributions, these markets have more architects and engineers as well as professionals in the computer and mathematical industries. These fields represent 4.3 percent of occupations across the U.S., but in these markets account for 7.4 percent of careers.
Age demographics: The U.S. population of 65 years and older is forecasted to grow by 18 percent by 2019, which will have significant impact on the real estate market as baby boomers make retirement-related housing decisions. In these markets the population over 65 is expected to see growth between 19 to 35 percent – well above the national average – in the next five years. The Palm Bay market is the only exception with projected growth of 15 percent.
Gross domestic product (GDP): These fast moving markets are in full economic recovery or expansion mode when considering local estimated GDP, employment growth and declines in unemployment. The Washington, D.C. market is the weakest of the 12 markets, but likely due to the impact of sequestration. The Denver, Austin, and Houston areas top the list with the largest gains in GDP and employment.
Population and household formation: All markets showed substantial growth from a population and household formation perspective. With the exception of the Palm Bay market, the population in every market grew faster than the national population between 2010 and 2014. Additionally, when reviewing Nielsen's five-year population growth forecast, all of the markets have a higher projected population growth than the U.S. overall.

National Housing Indicators for September 2014

	*September 2014*	*Year-over-Year Percentage Change*	*Month-over-Month Percentage Change*
*Median List Price*	$214,900	7.72%	0.00%
*Number of Listings*	1,867,987	-2.65%	-7.87%
*Median Age of Inventory*	90 days	-3.23%	4.65%

On a national level, median age of inventory is lower than last year with a reduced number of homes on the market. In September, homes spent approximately 90 days on the market, which is three days less compared to this time last year. Median listing prices held steady for the fourth consecutive month, maintaining a 7.7 percent gain year-over-year. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, inventory continued to demonstrate persistently low months' supply at five and a half months as compared with normal levels of six to seven months. New homes months' supply was even lower at nearly five months in August.

"To truly relieve the inventory shortage on a sustained basis, new home construction needs to rise by at least 50 percent from the current levels," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®.

For the complete realtor.com® September National Housing Trend Report, please visit: http://www.realtor.com/data-portal/realestatestatistics

How Data Is Collected

Realtor.com® regularly tracks real estate data and develops monthly reports featuring the number of listings, median age of inventory, and median list price across the U.S. and in specific markets, as well as provides year-over-year and month-over-month changes. These reports are the only ones pulled directly from the realtor.com® database, where 90 percent of listings are updated every 15 minutes from more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS). We regularly review and update historical data to provide the most accurate and comprehensive market information. As a result, some markets may be subject to periodic adjustments in data.

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About Move, Inc. and realtor.com®
Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE), a leading provider of online real estate services, operates realtor.com®, which connects people to the essential, accurate information needed to identify their perfect home and to the REALTORS® whose expertise guides consumers through buying and selling. As the official website for the National Association of REALTORS®, realtor.com® empowers consumers to make smart home buying, selling and renting decisions by leveraging its direct, real-time connections with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS) via all types of computers, tablets and smart telephones. Realtor.com® is where home happens. Move's network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools and accurate information including Doorsteps®, HomeInsight^SM, SocialBios^SM, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNet^SM, homefair^SM and Relocation.com. Move supports real estate agents and brokerages by providing many services to grow their businesses, including ListHub™, the nation's leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreet^SM; as well as many free services. Move is based in the heart of the Silicon Valley — San Jose, CA.

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SOURCE realtor.com