Thinking About Moving? These Are 2025's Hottest Housing Markets
What makes a housing market “hot” is somewhat subjective — and has very little to do with where the mercury rises most, as it turns out.
According to Zillow, the hottest housing market in the U.S. (for the second year in a row) is chilly Buffalo, New York. Zillow characterizes “hot” markets as cities where houses are still relatively affordable but where the amount of new homes being built isn’t keeping up with expected demand. The site analyzed the 50 biggest metro areas in the country to come up with its findings.
To create its list, Zillow used recent data as well as projections. It developed forecasts for how much and how fast home values are expected to rise, as well as the number of sales it anticipates, in 2025.
According to Zillow, Buffalo has numerous attributes that make its housing market dynamic: It has a lot of available jobs, and the rate of household formation — that is, the number of people previously living with parents or roommates who move into their own places — is expected to rise. Specifically, Zillow used the ratio of new jobs to new homes being built as a proxy for anticipated demand in the coming year.
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View RatesIn addition to these figures, Zillow looked at how long homes generally stay on the market (shorter durations equal higher demand). It also included in its analysis demographic and labor market trends that would indicate rising or falling demand, such as a surge in jobs that could trigger an influx of young adults moving to the area to fill those jobs.
If you’re thinking about selling your home, being on Zillow’s “hot” list is a good place to be. While inadequate supply can make an affordable city unaffordable if extreme enough, sellers benefit when buyer demand is high relative to the amount of available housing inventory. Meanwhile, the affordability that Zillow flags as another component of a hot market is good news for buyers.
If you’re thinking of buying in one of the markets Zillow identifies as “hot,” moving quickly lets you take advantage of the relative affordability. If you’re considering selling, on the other hand, bear in mind that rising demand could make your home more valuable in the coming months.
Zillow's top five hottest housing markets for 2025, in order, are:
- Buffalo, New York
- Indianapolis
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Philadelphia
Although not among the top 10 “hottest” markets, Zillow also noted a handful of cities that rapidly climbed in its ranking from last year. The three with the largest gains from 2024 are Virginia Beach, Virginia; Oklahoma City; and Birmingham, Alabama.
First-time homebuyers struggle
While it's been great news for sellers, the rapid home price appreciation that’s taken place over the past few years has been frustrating for homebuyers — especially those going through the process for the first time. When existing homeowners move, they can count on using some (or all) of their built-up equity towards the down payment on their new home. (This is why many sales contracts are contingent upon the buyer’s ability to sell their old home; they need that money for their subsequent purchase.)
First-time homebuyers have no such advantage. And relying on savings has become a bigger challenge as rent and other expenses have experienced persistent inflation over the past four years.
Realtor.com conducted an analysis to find the best housing markets for first-time homebuyers. Because first-time homebuyers tend to be younger (although the average age has been climbing as affordability has worsened), the analysis included some factors specifically pertaining to young adults. It looked at how affordable homes were based on average local earnings of young workers, the availability of stores and services like daycares, metrics about local housing and labor market growth, commuting time, and the prevalence of other young adults in the community.
Realtor.com determined that Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is the best city for first-time homebuyers.
There are some similarities in the two sites’ findings.
For instance, both sets of results have an upstate New York city and a Pennsylvania city in the top five. Beyond that, though, the two differ: While Zillow’s top five hottest markets list was heavy on Northeastern cities — the lone exception being Indianapolis — three of the top five in Realtor.com’s examination are in Florida.
Realtor.com’s list of the best cities for first-time homebuyers are, in order:
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Rochester, New York
- Villas, Florida
- Lauderdale Lakes, Florida
- Altamonte Springs, Florida
One reason for the difference is that Zillow included relative affordability in its analysis, looking at how much homes cost compared to other cities in the region. This benefits places like Hartford and Providence, both less-pricey regional alternatives to notoriously expensive housing markets like New York City and Boston.
Another key difference: Realtor.com cast a broader net than Zillow in that it examined the largest 100 metro areas — good news for would-be buyers looking to live in a smaller city.
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