America’s 20 Hottest Housing Markets Are So In Demand, They’ve Just Hit A New Record

Most of America’s housing market remains in limbo due to high interest rates, but certain markets are so hot, they’ve hit a new record.

America’s 20 Hottest Markets in May received three times as many views per property as the national average, according to the latest Realtor.com® report. Relatively speaking, that’s a record high never seen in the data’s history dating to mid-2017.

“This suggests that the month’s hottest markets are seeing significantly more demand than the typical home nationally, despite still-challenging housing conditions,” economic analyst Hannah Jones noted in her analysis

Why have these housing markets reached new heights in desirability compared with the rest of the country? It boils down to their low supply of homes for sale combined with high demand, which helps “drive views per property higher, upping the competition for homes in the hottest markets and adding upward pressure to home prices,” according to Jones.

Home prices in the majority of the U.S. remained relatively stable last month, climbing just 0.6% annually on average nationwide to $442,500. And although 13 of the hottest markets have median home prices below that—which is no doubt part of their allure—these prices have shot up by a whopping 13.6% since last year.

In addition to rising home prices, America’s 20 hottest markets are also moving at a brisk pace. In May, these listings sold more than three weeks faster than the national average of 44 days.

The hottest markets in the U.S.

The Northeast and the Midwest are the only two regions that landed spots on May’s 20 Hottest Markets list, with 12 and eight metros, respectively.

The Manchester-Nashua, NH, metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market for the eighth time in the past year, with listings receiving 3.6 times more views than the national average.

The first time it topped the list was in March 2021, and despite its high median list price of $630,000, the region continues to surge in popularity due to its proximity to Boston, which is about an hour away and much pricier at $960,000. New Hampshire’s affordababilty is a big draw, too, since the state has no state income or sales taxes.

Hartford, CT, ranked No. 2, with its listings getting 4.5 times more views than the national average. The average home there costs $447,000, and the capital city appeals to many because it’s just a 90-minute drive to New York City.

Springfield, MA, nabbed the No. 3 spot on the list. The city (known as the birthplace of baseball) is hugely popular due in part to its fairly affordable home prices of $400,000 and low unemployment rate. In May, the houses there spent a median of just 17 days on the market.

Rounding out the top five of the list were Concord, NH, with a median house price of $600,000, and Rochester, NY, with a median house price of $310,000.

Three towns in Ohio made the top 20: Canton (No. 8), Akron (No. 10), and Columbus (No. 15). With the lowest median price of $252,000 in the Akron area, Ohio boasts a low cost of living and plenty of parks and recreation, which makes it particularly appealing to families.

The city with the lowest median housing price in the top 20 is Springfield, IL (No. 14). Not only is the average home there just $216,000, Springfield is also near St. Louis, Chicago, and Indianapolis.

Urban markets are on the rise

Larger urban housing markets have been heating up as more homebuyers stopped working remotely and started to look for housing near business hubs.

The five large metro markets that saw the biggest jump in rankings were Philadelphia, Kansas City, MO, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Baltimore.

Luckily for buyers, prices climbed only an average of 1.3% in these markets, which was slightly more than the national average but still on the lower side.

“Affordable inventory is on the rise and rents continue to fall, promising better housing ahead,” Jones noted about the nationwide trend.