- For the first time in the data’s history, Rockford, IL, ranked as the country’s hottest market in December.
- Prices fell 1.8% nationally, but the month’s hottest markets saw more significant price growth (+2.7%) due to high demand and scarce for-sale inventory.
- The Northeast and the Midwest were the only regions on this month’s list with 10 markets each. December’s list is the 15th in a row that contains only Northeast and Midwest markets.
- The New York City metro area saw the biggest jump in its hotness ranking among large U.S. metros compared with last year, climbing 48 spots to rank as the 208th hottest U.S. market in December.
The Rockford metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market in December for the first time in the data’s history. This Chicago-adjacent metro has ranked in the top five for the past seven months.
Rockford’s hotness means that high demand is met with low inventory as buyers claim available homes. This affordable area has seen sustained demand this year as mortgage rates and home prices deter buyers from searching in higher-priced areas.
The Market Hotness rankings take into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique views 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.
Prices climb in 14 of the 20 hottest markets
On average, both price growth and demand outpace the national trend in the hottest markets. Home prices were 1.8% lower year over year nationally in December, but many of the hottest markets saw still-climbing prices. Annual price growth among the hottest markets was 2.7% in December, slightly slower than November. Demand, as measured by views per property, was 2.5 times the national level in the hottest markets in December, picking up compared with the previous month.
This month’s hottest market, Rockford, saw 2.9 times the listing viewership as was typical in the U.S. in December, and price growth accelerated to 21.3% year over year in the metro. Behind Rockford, Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA (+9.2%), and Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI (+6.7%), saw the highest annual price growth of this month’s hottest markets.
While active listings were up 22% year over year nationally in December, all but five of the hottest markets saw more subdued listing growth. On average, the 20 hottest markets saw inventory increase 12.5% year over year in December. Though inventory is improving annually in most of the hottest markets, there were an average of 57.8% fewer homes for sale in December among these hottest markets compared with pre-pandemic levels, far outpacing the national decline of 15.7%.
High demand and scarce inventory conditions drive views per property higher, upping the competition for homes in the hottest markets, and leading to snappier home sales. Homes in the hottest markets sold about 2 days slower than last year but spent 3 weeks less time on the market than typical nationally (48 days in hot markets versus 70 days nationally).
Who’s in
All but five markets on the December Hottest Housing Markets list were also on November’s list. Norwich-New London, Conn., Topeka, Kan., Dayton, Ohio, Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa., and Peoria, Ill., all jumped into the top 20 from within the top 35 markets last month.
Looking at which of the 300 ranked markets climbed the most year over year reveals that Charlottesville, VA (135 spots hotter), Lexington-Fayette, KY (115 spots hotter), and Winchester, VA-WV (107 spots hotter), have picked up popularity compared with last year.
Who’s out
Five markets fell out of the top 20 from November’s list, all ranked at the bottom of last month’s list. Erie, PA, New Haven-Milford, CT, Cleveland-Elyria, OH, Allentown-Bethlehem, PA, and Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN, each dropped out of the top 20 between November and December.
Looking instead at which metros have fallen the furthest over the past year reveals a list of mostly Southern markets that have fallen from popularity. The metros that have fallen the furthest include Nashville, TN (97 spots lower), Rocky Mount, NC (92 spots lower), and Orlando, FL (92 spots lower).
December 2024: Top 20 Hottest Housing Markets
| Hottest Metros | Hotness Rank | Hotness Rank YoY | Viewers per Property vs US | Median Days On Market | Days on Market YoY | Median Listing Price If Active Within Period |
| Rockford, Ill. | 1 | -2 | 2.9 | 43 | 3 | $242,000 |
| Manchester-Nashua, N.H. | 2 | 0 | 3.2 | 48 | 5 | $557,000 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. | 3 | -1 | 4 | 49 | 4 | $400,000 |
| Lancaster, Pa. | 4 | -5 | 2.3 | 45 | 3 | $415,000 |
| Reading, Pa. | 5 | -16 | 2.2 | 43 | -2 | $330,000 |
| Worcester, Mass.-Conn. | 6 | 1 | 2.6 | 49 | 5 | $500,000 |
| Springfield, Mass. | 7 | 1 | 3 | 51 | 6 | $365,000 |
| Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. | 8 | -2 | 2.3 | 49 | 4 | $525,000 |
| Racine, Wis. | 8 | -6 | 2.2 | 47 | 1 | $334,000 |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis. | 10 | 2 | 2.6 | 51 | 3 | $300,000 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. | 11 | -6 | 2 | 45 | 1 | $357,000 |
| Springfield, Ill. | 12 | -12 | 2 | 46 | -4 | $165,000 |
| Canton-Massillon, Ohio | 13 | -2 | 1.9 | 43 | -1 | $240,000 |
| Akron, Ohio | 14 | 7 | 2.1 | 51 | 7 | $210,000 |
| Norwich-New London, Conn. | 15 | -4 | 3.1 | 56 | 4 | $445,000 |
| Topeka, Kan. | 16 | 0 | 1.8 | 45 | -2 | $220,000 |
| Concord, N.H. | 17 | -6 | 3.2 | 57 | 4 | $535,000 |
| Dayton, Ohio | 18 | 7 | 1.8 | 47 | 2 | $230,000 |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa. | 18 | -21 | 1.9 | 50 | -1 | $334,000 |
| Peoria, Ill. | 20 | -9 | 2.1 | 52 | 2 | $145,000 |
Not in the top 20? See rankings for the top 300 markets
Most improved large markets
The 40 largest markets across the country cooled by 8 spots in hotness rank, on average, compared with last year. This is the fourth month that large markets have cooled off annually since January 2023. Nevertheless, these areas pulled in 10.3% more views per listing than was typical in the U.S. in December, and homes spent eight fewer days on the market than the U.S. median. Prices fell an average of 1.1% in these markets, the fifth month of large-market average annual decline in the data’s history.
Large, often high-priced, markets are starting to adjust to subdued buyer demand by lowering home prices and selling smaller, more affordable homes. Some of the slowing price growth both nationally and in the largest markets is due to a change in the mix of inventory for sale.
The most improved housing markets were New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (48 spots hotter), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va. (+36 spots), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa. (+35 spots), Pittsburgh, Pa. (+35 spots), Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind. (+33 spots), and Minneapolis, MN (+33 spots). This month’s fastest-climbing markets ranked between 61st (Philadelphia) and 208th (New York City) on December’s list.
Large Markets With Biggest Jump in Rankings (December 2024)
| Metro | Hotness Rank | Hotness Rank YoY | Viewers per Property vs US | Median Days On Market | Days on Market YoY | Median Days On Market Vs Us |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. | 208 | -48 | 0.9 | 73 | 2 | 3 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va. | 88 | -36 | 1.0 | 50 | 0 | -20 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. | 61 | -35 | 1.4 | 57 | 1 | -13 |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | 121 | -35 | 1.5 | 69 | 3 | -1 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind. | 100 | -33 | 1.1 | 60 | 3 | -10 |
What does this mean for buyers, sellers, and the housing market?
This month’s hottest markets likely come as no surprise, highlighting the lack of significant change in the housing market over the past couple of years. The Midwest and Northeast have reigned supreme as homes to most of the country’s hottest markets since mid-2022 when mortgage rates picked up steam.
Housing affordability started to improve with falling mortgage rates in September, but rates reversed course and have reached almost 7% once again. However, rates are still generally expected to fall in the coming months, and improving affordability could start to shake up buyer demand. However, many less-hot markets across the country have seen a significant buildup in housing inventory, which can absorb an uptick in demand without much upward price pressure.