The housing market remains tight and it can be challenging to know how quickly you need to act when you find a home you want. It’s also a good indicator for how first-time homebuyers need to be prepared and advised before house hunting. Trulia recently conducted a two-month study to find out how long homes were listed for sale. They first looked at homes listed in the 100 biggest metro areas in the U.S. on February 5 and then counted how many were still available on April 5. Faster-moving markets had a lower percentage of homes listed after two months, while slower-moving markets had a higher percentage.
So where in America are homes flying off the market?
10 fastest-moving housing markets
| Rank | Metro | Homes still for sale after 2 months April 2015 | Homes still for sale after 2 months April 2014 |
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | 26% | 28% |
| 2 | San Jose, CA | 30% | 31% |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | 30% | 31% |
| 4 | San Diego, CA | 33% | 44% |
| 5 | Orange County, CA | 41% | 45% |
| 6 | Seattle, WA | 42% | 45% |
| 7 | Sacramento, CA | 42% | 45% |
| 8 | Los Angeles, CA | 43% | 45% |
| 9 | Ventura County, CA | 43% | 50% |
| 10 | Salt Lake City, UT | 45% | 51% |
Source: Trulia
Throughout the U.S., 40% of homes moved off the market in the two-month period, a slight increase from 38% during the same time period in 2014. Lower-priced homes in the fast-moving markets sold the quickest, with half still on the market after two months. For first-time homebuyers, this is a key indicator that they need to be prepared and advised prior to house hunting.
