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 539,163 listings and 427,188 properties sold, marking the highest number of sold properties during the analysis period. In August, listings rose slightly to 586,540, but sold properties dropped sharply to 152,213. Finally, in September, listings significantly decreased to 367,033, while sold properties rebounded to 226,926, 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 Miami-Dade and Broward 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 0.3312 to 0.3771.
Table1. Top 10 counties with the highest number of properties sold (Q3 2024)
Rank | County NAME | MSA NAME | Total Sold | Total Listing | Sold to Listing Ratio |
1 | Los Angeles County | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 21,800 | 36,065 | 0.6045 |
2 | Cook County | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 18,760 | 23,397 | 0.8018 |
3 | Maricopa County | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 13,377 | 28,174 | 0.4748 |
4 | San Diego County | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 8,698 | 12,411 | 0.7008 |
5 | Orange County | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 8,171 | 9,884 | 0.8267 |
6 | Miami-Dade County | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 8,121 | 21,534 | 0.3771 |
7 | King County | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 7,866 | 11,093 | 0.7091 |
8 | Clark County | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 7,840 | 16,450 | 0.4766 |
9 | Broward County | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 7,590 | 22,915 | 0.3312 |
10 | Queens County | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 7,194 | 13,982 | 0.5145 |
Sold to Listing Ratio 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 1.9848. Another county in the same MSA, Middlesex County, ranks 2nd with a ratio of 1.7131. Together, these counties highlight the exceptional demand within the Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown area. Similarly, Morris and Union Counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA rank 4th and 10th, underscoring significant real estate activity in that region.
Following Counties in Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT, Milwaukee County (Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI) shows the 3rd highest ratios.
Other counties with high demand include Providence County in RI-MA, McLean and Champaign County in IL, Onondaga in NY as well as Howard County in MD, indicating robust property market activity across these regions.
Table2. Top 10 counties with the highest sold to listing ratios (Q3 2024)
Rank | County NAME | MSA NAME | Total Sold | Total Listing | Sold to Listing Ratio |
1 | Hartford County | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 4,968 | 2,503 | 1.9848 |
2 | Middlesex County | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 1,266 | 739 | 1.7131 |
3 | Milwaukee County | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 4,905 | 2,920 | 1.6798 |
4 | Morris County | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 3,031 | 1,849 | 1.6393 |
5 | Providence County | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 3,323 | 2,057 | 1.6155 |
6 | McLean County | Bloomington, IL | 915 | 595 | 1.5378 |
7 | Essex County | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 3,235 | 2,140 | 1.5117 |
8 | Onondaga County | Syracuse, NY | 2,458 | 1,651 | 1.4888 |
9 | Champaign County | Champaign-Urbana, IL | 1,237 | 850 | 1.4553 |
10 | Union County | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 2,492 | 1,721 | 1.4480 |
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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, 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.
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