Buffalo, New York, keeps its title as the hottest housing for 2025, boasting more affordable home prices along with the rest of the top 10 markets, according to a new report from Zillow.
“Construction that keeps pace with an area’s growth remains a crucial piece of keeping homes available and accessible,” said Skylar Olsen, Zillow chief economist, in a statement. “In chilly Buffalo, competition among buyers will remain hot, with employment growing far faster than builders are adding homes.”
The remaining top 10 hottest markets of 2025 include:
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Richmond, Virginia
- Salt Lake City, Utah
Zillow stated that these rankings are based out of the nation’s 50 most populous metros, and takes into account its forecast for local home value growth and how quickly homes are selling. It also considers job growth per new home permitted and expected growth in owner-occupied households.
In terms of home value growth, Hartford, Providence, Indianapolis and Charlotte lead the way in Zillow’s predictions for 2025. Hartford specifically is the leader of the bunch, with 4.2% expected growth.
Zillow’s hottest housing market rankings for 2025 saw some definite shifts from 2024, with only Buffalo and Charlotte remaining in their 2024 spots. Salt Lake City leaped an impressive 18 spots in the rankings to make it into the top 10. Other jumps include Hartford’s leap of 15 slots, Richmond’s growth of 11 spots, Kansas City’s growth of 10 spots and St. Louis’ growth of nine spots.
In addition, no cities from the West made the top 10 rankings in 2024, but Salt Lake City’s leap to 10th place changed that for 2025, representing a possible growth in affordability in that region.
Looking closer at the regions represented in the top 10 rankings, the Northeast also appears to be growing in affordability, now claiming four of the top 10 spots.
“Shoppers nationwide should see more options for sale than in recent years, along with slow and steady price growth,” added Olsen. “That’s the good news. But both buyers and sellers should expect unpredictable mortgage rates.”
