Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire, and Rochester, New York, tied for the top spot on the hottest housing markets list in September, as found by a new report from realtor.com®.
Realtor.com’s Market Hotness rankings, according to the report, take into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique viewers per property on realtor.com®, and 2) the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains active on realtor.com®.The report found that the top 20 hottest markets are spread out across 12 states, with three metros in both Indiana and in Massachusetts.
Key highlights:
- There are no West region markets on the list this month, a departure from the September 2016-2021 average of seven Western hot markets.
- Affordable Midwest metros held eight spots on this month’s list, with an average listing price of $269,000, 37% lower than the national median.
- Indiana boasted three markets on the list again in September: Indiana offers buyers affordability with Fort Wayne, Elkhart-Goshen and Lafayette-West Lafayette all priced below the national median.
- The Northeast held 10 spots on September’s list, including three Massachusetts locales: Boston, Springfield and Worcester. The Manchester-Nashua, Concord, Springfield and Worcester metro areas all surround the Boston metro area, emphasizing the demand to be near this Northeast hub.
- The least expensive market on the list was Rockford, Illinois, where the median home price was $187,000 in September.
- Four of the top five most-improved large housing markets were in the Midwest: St. Louis (+101 spots), Chicago (+100 spots), Milwaukee (+79 spots) and Indianapolis (+66 spots). These markets offered highly sought-after affordability with listing prices 1.7% to 35.6% below the national median.
- The third ranked most improved market was Atlanta (+80 spots).
Major takeaway:
“As prices begin to level off nationwide, affordability remains a key feature of September’s hottest markets with 14 markets below the national median listing price,” said Hannah Jones, author of the report. “The average listing price for the 20 hottest markets ticked up from last month, reaching $364,000 in September, 14.8% lower than the national median.”
The leaders of the market, according to the report, were Manchester-Nashua and Rochester. The median listing price of homes in the Manchester-Nashua area was $487,000 in September, up 17.1% year over year but down from the median of $742,000 in nearby Boston. For Rochester, the median home price was $223,000, more than $100,000 lower than the U.S. median.
“These two markets are appealing due to the value they offer buyers. Rochester is overall extremely affordable relative to the rest of the country, while Manchester-Nashua offers an affordable alternative specifically to the expensive Boston metropolitan area,” said Jones.
For the full report, click here.
