The 'spring' housing market starts January says realtor.com

Realtor.com study finds that for many metros the market will pick up early

The 'spring' housing market starts January says realtor.com

The traditional spring season for housing market activity may be brought forward somewhat in 2020 according to a new report.

January is set to be a busy month for the real estate and mortgage industries as buyers adjust their strategies amid tighter inventories and rising prices.

That’s the finding of an analysis by realtor.com which shows that, while April was the peak month for viewings of listings on its site in 2015, this year February was the most active month with January just 1% behind.

However, in 20 of the 100 largest metro areas including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Jose, Calif., and Denver, January was the top month for listing viewings.

That was a significant increase from the 3 metros where January was the peak month in 2018.

But the early start for the housing market will not mean a slow spring; the study found that competition will start high in January and stay high.

Top Markets Where January was the Most Competitive Month in 2019