California 'hot' among homebuyers

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ZipRealty's quarterly "Home Hunter Report" is based on multiple listing service data from 5,400 cities in 33 of the 35 major metropolitan areas where ZipRealty operates. The data covers the period between April 1 and June 30.

Of the report's 100 "hottest" ZIP codes nationwide, 91 were in California. This means that, on average, homes in these ZIP codes sold for the most above listing price, while homes in the "coldest" ZIP codes sold for the most under listing price.

Of the top 10 hottest ZIPs, seven were in the Golden State, compared to eight in the second quarter of 2009. Of the coldest, seven were in another SunBelt state: Florida.

"The hot housing market in the second quarter in California may have resulted from increased demand from the government tax incentives without a lot of homes for sale, so many home sellers received multiple bids and sold their homes over the asking prices," said Leslie Tyler, vice president for ZipRealty, in a statement.

"Florida is showing some encouraging signs of improvement, as they work off the large numbers of distressed properties. Homes in Miami are even selling close to asking price, a significant change from what we’ve been seeing over the past year."

The country's coldest markets have warmed slightly since the second quarter of 2009, the report said -- homes in the 10 coldest ZIP codes sold for an average 18 percent below asking price compared to a -22 percent average in the second quarter of 2009.

Of the top 25 most-searched cities on ZipRealty's website, the vast majority were in areas with a high number of distressed properties. Phoenix topped the list, with the Phoenix metro area accounting for seven of the top 10 most-searched cities. Ten cities in the Las Vegas metro area also made up a substantial chunk of the list.

The rest were Orlando, Fla. (No. 4); Atlanta (No. 11); Kissimmee, Fla. (No. 12); Dallas, Texas (No. 16); Peoria, Ill. (No. 19); Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (No. 21); Houston, Texas (No. 23); and Carlsbad, Calif. (No.24).

From ZipRealty:

The country's 10 hottest ZIP codes – those with the highest sales-to-list-price ratios -- include the following:

Neighborhood/City

ZIP Code

Percent of List Price

Average List Price

Average Sale Price

Berkeley, Calif. 94703 107.73%

$575,095

$619,574

Chicago, Ill. – Loop 60603 106.56

$702,565

$748,663

Oakland, Calif. 94621 105.93

$106,893

$113,236

Oakland, Calif. 94603 104.33

$133,213

$138,980

Forest Park, Ga. 30297 104.03

$30,200

$31,417

San Jose, Calif. 95122 103.86

$274,516

$284,395

Rodeo, Calif. 94572 103.42

$221,775

$229,359

Las Vegas, Nev. 89030 103.41

$51,112

$52,853

Adelanto           92301 103.11

$86,659

$89,353

San Jose, Calif. 95111 103.03

$291,090

$299,917

The country's coldest ZIP codes -- those with the lowest sales-to-list-price ratios -- include the following:

Neighborhood/City

ZIP Code

Percentage of List Price

Average List Price

Average Sale Price

Bokeelia, Fla. 33922 84.18%

$241,663

$203,427

Jupiter, Fla. 33477 84.02%

$648,097

$544,563

Minooka, Ill. 60447 83.84%

$225,860

$189,353

Osterville, Mass. 02655 83.82%

$1,114,802

$934,455

Boca Raton, Fla. 33496 83.73%

$626,124

$524,255

Highland Beach, Fla. 33487 83.61%

$964,762

$806,597

Delray Beach, Fla. 33483 82.67%

$953,971

$788,620

Palm Beach, Fla. 33480 82.61%

$1,336,673

$1,104,181

Alva, Fla. 33920 75.95%

$387,214

$294,087

Winchester, Conn. 06098 71.61%

$738,321

$528,683