Smaller markets known for greater affordability are growing in popularity among home shoppers. The Midwest and Northeast are outshining California markets, which have long dominated realtor.com®’s monthly list of the most bustling locales in the country. Realtor.com®’s list is based on the markets with the fastest sales and the highest number of website visits from house hunters.
The Midwest and Northeast are “where the action is concentrated as we go into the summer,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com®.
Rochester, N.Y., topped realtor.com®’s list of hottest housing markets in May, the first time for the city to emerge in the number one spot on the list. “Rochester is a hidden gem, and people are starting to become more aware of it,” says Trip Pierson, a broker at Mitchell Pierson, REALTORS®, in Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester. “There’s a quality of life that exists here. It’s easy to commute places; it’s easy to walk to school.” He had a recent $350,000 listing that drew 20 showings in less than a week, with at least two offers.
Two markets in Indiana, Fort Wayne and Lafayette, came in at number two and three, respectively, on the latest list. Overall, there were seven Midwestern markets and six Northeastern markets on realtor.com®’s list—the highest for both of those regions since realtor.com® began its monthly tracking on May 2013.
The following are the nation’s top 20 hottest performing housing markets in May*:
- Rochester, N.Y.
- Fort Wayne, Ind.
- Lafayette-West Lafayette, Ind.
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.
- Midland, Texas
- Columbus, Ohio
- Manchester-Nashua, N.H.
- Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash.
- Yuba City, Calif.
- Pueblo, Colo.
- Worcester, Mass.
- Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif.
- Springfield, Mass.
- Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.
- Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
- Boise City, Idaho
- Stockton-Lodi, Calif.
- Canton-Massillon, Ohio
- La Crosse-Onalaska, Wis.
*Note: Realtor.com® announced it is upgrading its database to a new system and that the May data featured here is based on previewed database information. The May data may change once the upgrade is complete.
Source: “The Hottest Real Estate Markets in America, May 2019: Color Us Surprised!” realtor.com® (June 13, 2019)
