Highlights
- The Manchester-Nashua, NH metro area ranked as the country鈥檚 hottest housing market for the tenth month in a row.
- Prices were flat nationally but the month鈥檚 hottest markets saw moderate price growth (+2.9%) due to high demand and scarce for-sale inventory.
- The Northeast and the Midwest were the only regions on this month鈥檚 list with 13 and 7 markets, respectively. October鈥檚 list is the 13th in a row that only contains Northeast and Midwest markets.
- The New York City metro area saw the biggest jump in its hotness ranking among large US metros compared to last year, climbing 88 spots to rank as the 164th hottest US market in October.
The Manchester-Nashua, N.H. metro area ranked as the country鈥檚 hottest housing market in September for the 31st time in the data鈥檚 history. This Boston-adjacent metro has been red-hot since March 2021, ranking among the top 3 markets each month for more than 3 years.听
Manchester鈥檚 hotness means that high demand is met with low inventory as buyers claim available homes. The area has not seen any significant shift in buyer attention, which means that inventory has not been able to recover. This dynamic has kept time on market quick and competition fierce, which continues to feed market hotness.听
Realtor.com鈥檚 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 11 of the 20 Hottest Markets
On average, both price growth and demand outpace the national trend in the hottest markets. Home prices were flat year-over-year nationally in October, but many of the hottest markets saw still-climbing prices. Price growth in the hottest markets fell from 3.6% in September to 2.9% in October, resuming the recent trend of falling price growth. Demand, as measured by views per property, was 2.6 times the national level in the hottest markets in October, the same as the previous month.听
This month鈥檚 hottest market, Manchester-Nashua, N.H., saw 3.5 times the listing viewership as was typical in the U.S. in October, and price growth accelerated to 9.3% year-over-year in the metro. Rochester, NY (+11.0%) and Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI (+11.0%) saw the highest annual price growth of this month鈥檚 hottest markets, followed by Manchester-Nashua.
While active listings were up 29.2% year-over-year nationally in October, many of the hottest markets saw more subdued listing growth. On average, the 20 hottest markets saw inventory increase 19.7% year-over-year in October. Though inventory is improving annually in most of the hottest markets, there were an average 57.3% fewer homes for sale in October compared to pre-pandemic, far outpacing the national decline of 21.1%.听
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 1 day slower than last year but spent 3 weeks less time on the market than typical nationally (34 days in hot markets vs 58 days nationally).
Who鈥檚 In
All but three markets on the October Hottest Housing Markets list were also on September’s list. Lancaster, Pa., New Haven-Milford, Conn., and Reading, Pa. all jumped from within the top 25 markets last month.听
Looking at which of the 300 ranked markets climbed the most year-over-year reveals that Sioux Falls, SD (122 spots hotter), Dover, DE (109 spots hotter), and Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY (103 spots hotter) have picked up popularity compared to last year.
Who鈥檚 Out
Five markets fell out of the top 20 from September鈥檚 list. Dayton-Kettering, OH, Columbus, OH and Peoria, IL each dropped out of the top 20 between September and October. These areas remained in the top 26 markets, emphasizing the recent draw of Midwest and Northeast metros, which have dominated the list since February 2022.听
Looking instead at which metros have fallen the furthest over the last year reveals a mix of southern and western that have fallen from popularity. The metros that have fallen the furthest include Tampa, FL (124 spots lower), and Asheville, NC (117 spots lower), two markets that faced widespread devastation from hurricanes Helene and Milton in October, and are in the process of rebuilding.
October 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 |
| Manchester-Nashua, N.H. | 1 | 0 | 3.5 | 28 | 4 | $572,000 |
| Springfield, Mass. | 2 | -1 | 2.9 | 30 | 0 | $385,000 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. | 3 | -7 | 3.9 | 33 | -5 | $400,000 |
| Concord, N.H. | 4 | -1 | 3.2 | 32 | -1 | $534,000 |
| Rockford, Ill. | 4 | 0 | 2.8 | 28 | -2 | $232,000 |
| Worcester, Mass.-Conn. | 6 | 0 | 2.5 | 31 | 4 | $527,000 |
| Lancaster, Pa. | 7 | -2 | 2.4 | 31 | 1 | $390,000 |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis. | 8 | 1 | 2.9 | 37 | 2 | $312,000 |
| Akron, Ohio | 9 | -5 | 2.3 | 36 | -1 | $228,000 |
| Racine, Wis. | 10 | -8 | 2.1 | 30 | 0 | $323,000 |
| Erie, Pa. | 11 | -32 | 3.1 | 40 | -3 | $240,000 |
| Canton-Massillon, Ohio | 12 | -12 | 2.2 | 33 | 0 | $252,000 |
| Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. | 13 | 3 | 2.3 | 36 | 3 | $553,000 |
| Rochester, N.Y. | 14 | 12 | 2.4 | 38 | 20 | $277,000 |
| New Haven-Milford, Conn. | 15 | -7 | 2.7 | 41 | 2 | $400,000 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. | 16 | -1 | 2 | 34 | 3 | $837,000 |
| Norwich-New London, Conn. | 16 | -5 | 2.9 | 42 | 3 | $471,000 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. | 18 | -11 | 1.9 | 32 | 0 | $378,000 |
| Janesville-Beloit, Wis. | 19 | -14 | 2.6 | 43 | 1 | $331,000 |
| Reading, Pa. | 20 | -19 | 1.9 | 34 | -3 | $347,000 |
| Toledo, Ohio | 20 | -26 | 2 | 35 | -2 | $249,000 |
Not in the top 20? See rankings for the top 300 markets
Most Improved Large Markets
The largest 40 markets across the country cooled by 5 spots in hotness rank, on average, compared to last year. This is the second month that large markets have cooled off annually since January 2023. Nevertheless, these areas pulled in 7.3% more views per listing than was typical in the U.S. in October, and homes spent 9 fewer days on the market than the U.S. median. Prices fell an average 1.0% in these markets, the third month of large-market average annual decline in the data鈥檚 history.听
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 market 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. (88 spots hotter), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, (+49 spots), Pittsburgh, Pa. (+44 spots), Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.(+40 spots), and Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich(+35 spots). This month鈥檚 fastest climbing markets ranked between 56th (Detroit) and 164th (New York) on October鈥檚 list.听
Large Markets with Biggest Jump in Rankings (October 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. | 164 | -88 | 1.00 | 54 | -3 | -4 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. | 60 | -49 | 1.50 | 43 | -1 | -15 |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | 103 | -44 | 1.50 | 52 | 1 | -6 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md. | 101 | -40 | 0.90 | 36 | -1 | -22 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich | 56 | -35 | 1.40 | 40 | 0 | -18 |
What does this mean for buyers, sellers and the housing market?
This month鈥檚 hottest markets likely come as no surprise, highlighting the lack of significant change in the housing market over the last couple of years. The Midwest and Northeast have reigned supreme as homes to most of the country鈥檚 hottest markets since mid-2022 when mortgage rates picked up steam.听
Housing affordability started to improve with falling mortgage rates in September, but rates reversed course in October, sapping energy out of the market 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 build up in housing inventory, which can absorb an uptick in demand without much upward price pressure.听