Are ‘hot’ California housing markets a good thing?

California has a surprising number of what Zillow calls “hot” markets.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed the real estate giant’s 2026 “hotness” scorecard, which used a host of real estate and economic metrics to identify where the most upside potential lies in 49 major U.S. housing markets.

Curiously, three of the six California metropolitan areas tracked landed in the top 11 of this scorecard – San Jose, Los Angeles-Orange County and the Inland Empire. But living in a “hot” market may not be the best thing.

Various real estate trackers create these kinds of market rankings to suggest where homebuying might perk up the most in the future. But I have two problems with the way the rankings are characterized.

Such hotness is in the eye of the beholder.

Sellers may prefer hot climates, as the ranking suggests firmer pricing. Of course, that could be misleading hype about a home’s true value.

Meanwhile, bargain-loving house hunters should prefer cooler locales. A slow market should, theoretically, put a cap on pricing, if not cut it.

Plus, when homebuying runs at a generationally slow pace as it has in the past three...