In this article, we analyze county-level residential property market trends for Q3 2024 (July – September) using Trulia's listings and sold property data. The dataset includes condo, multifamily, and single-family sales listings and data for properties sold. The spatial analysis scope of this article covers 689 key counties selected by Market Stadium.
Overall Trends
First, let’s examine the overall trend. The figure below shows the monthly sales and sold totals across 689 counties. In July, there were 810,646 listings and 591,894 properties sold, marking the highest number of sold properties during the analysis period. In August, listings rose slightly to 867,296, but sold properties dropped sharply to 218,498. Finally, in September, listings significantly decreased to 569,699, while sold properties rebounded to 356,469, showing a notable increase from August.
Number of Sold Properties at County-Level
Next, we examine the data by county. To focus on counties with a minimum level of residential market activity, we conducted a county-level analysis on 460 counties with at least 500 sales listings over the three-month period. The table below shows the top 10 counties with the highest number of properties sold. The three counties with the most sales transactions were Los Angeles (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA), Cook (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI), and Maricopa County (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ), each recording over 10,000 residential property sales. Counties in CA, including those in Los Angeles and San Diego, ranked highly, along with counties in Miami, Florida area, such as Broward and Miami-Dade County (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL). Notably, the counties in Miami exhibit relatively lower Sold to Listing Ratios (total sold/total listing), indicating weaker demand in the property market compared to other top 10 counties, with ratios ranging from 0.3236 to 0.3711.
Table1. Top 10 counties with the highest number of properties sold
Rank | County NAME | MSA NAME | Total Sold | Total Listing | Sold to Listing Ratio |
1 | Los Angeles County | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 20969 | 35865 | 0.5847 |
2 | Cook County | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 18575 | 23393 | 0.7940 |
3 | Maricopa County | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 12323 | 28166 | 0.4375 |
4 | San Diego County | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 8370 | 12378 | 0.6762 |
5 | Orange County | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 8028 | 9868 | 0.8135 |
6 | Miami-Dade County | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 7925 | 21353 | 0.3711 |
7 | Clark County | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 7745 | 16438 | 0.4712 |
8 | King County | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 7560 | 11067 | 0.6831 |
9 | Broward County | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 7393 | 22848 | 0.3236 |
10 | Suffolk County | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 6743 | 10399 | 0.6484 |
Number of Sold Properties at County-Level
The top 10 counties with the highest sold to listing ratios, an index indicating strong demand in the housing market, are shown in the table below. Hartford County (Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT) stands out with the highest ratio of 1.8369. Another county in the same MSA, Middlesex County, ranks 5th with a ratio of 1.4668. Together, these counties highlight the exceptional demand within the Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown area. Similarly, Essex and Strafford Counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA rank 6th and 8th, underscoring significant real estate activity in that region. Following Hartford County, Milwaukee County (Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI) and Providence County (Providence-Warwick, RI-MA) show the second and third highest ratios. Other counties with high demand include McLean and Champaign County in IL, as well as Onondaga and Morris in NY and NJ, indicating robust property market activity across these regions.
Table2. Top 10 counties with the highest sold to listing ratios
Rank | County NAME | MSA NAME | Total Sold | Total Listing | Sold to Listing Ratio |
1 | Hartford County | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 4596 | 2502 | 1.8369 |
2 | Milwaukee County | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 4844 | 2920 | 1.6589 |
3 | Providence County | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 3136 | 2053 | 1.5275 |
4 | Morris County | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 2766 | 1827 | 1.5140 |
5 | Middlesex County | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 1084 | 739 | 1.4668 |
6 | Essex County | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 2988 | 2131 | 1.4022 |
7 | Onondaga County | Syracuse, NY | 2255 | 1644 | 1.3717 |
8 | Strafford County | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 720 | 526 | 1.3688 |
9 | McLean County | Bloomington, IL | 797 | 595 | 1.3395 |
10 | Champaign County | Champaign-Urbana, IL | 1131 | 850 | 1.3306 |
In summary, the Q3 2024 county-level residential property analysis reveals clear regional differences in market demand and activity. Los Angeles, Cook, and Maricopa Counties show the highest transaction volumes, highlighting these areas' strong real estate activity. However, demand levels, as indicated by Sold to Listing Ratios, vary widely across regions. While counties in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL show lower ratios, suggesting softer demand, MSAs like Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT, and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, exhibit exceptionally high ratios, pointing to a more competitive market. Finally, it's important to note that this analysis relies solely on Trulia's listings and sold property data, which may result in differences from analyses based on a more comprehensive dataset.