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Highlights
- The Manchester-Nashua, NH metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market for the eighth month in a row.
- Prices fell nationally but the month’s hottest markets saw moderate price growth (+3.3%) due to high demand and scarce for-sale inventory.
- The Northeast and the Midwest were the only regions on this month’s list with 9 and 12 markets, respectively. August’s list is the 11th in a row that only contains Northeast and Midwest markets.
- The Las Vegas metro area saw the biggest jump in its hotness ranking among large US metros compared to last year, climbing 67 spots to rank as the 169th hottest US market in August.
The Manchester-Nashua, N.H. metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market in August for the 29th time in the data’s 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. The area’s 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.
Realtor.com’s 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.
Price Growth Moderates in Hottest Markets
Both price growth and demand outpace the national trend in the hottest markets. Home prices fell 1.3% year-over-year nationally in August, but the hottest markets saw still-climbing prices. Price growth in the hottest markets moderated from 5.9% in July to an average 3.3% in August, the third month in a row of shrinking price growth. Demand, as measured by views per property, was 2.5 times the national level in the hottest markets in August, down slightly from the previous month.
This month’s hottest market, Manchester-Nashua, N.H., saw 3.3 times the listing viewership as was typical in the U.S. in August. Despite still-high demand, prices fell 1.3% year-over-year in the metro, though price-per-square-foot still increased slightly.
While active listings were up 35.8% year-over-year nationally in August, the hottest markets saw more subdued listing growth. On average, the 20 hottest markets saw inventory increase 20.3% year-over-year in August. Inventory was roughly 26% below pre-pandemic levels in August nationally, but the hottest markets saw an average 58% decrease in inventory in the same time period.
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 at the same pace as last year but spent about 3 weeks less on the market than typical nationally, with homes in these locales spending just 32 days on the market.
Who’s In
All but six markets on the August Hottest Housing Markets list were also on July’s list. La Crosse-Onalaska, Wis.-Minn., and Erie, Pa., jumped from 35th and 39th to 10th and 15th, respectively. Though these two markets jumped the most, Columbus, OH, Dayton, OH, Lancaster, PA, Milwaukee, WI, and Toledo, OH also ascended into the top 20 this month.
Looking at which of the 300 ranked markets climbed the most year-over-year reveals that Sioux Falls, SD (96 spots hotter), Bloomington, IL (87 spots hotter), and St. Cloud, MN (83 spots hotter) have picked up popularity compared to last year.
Who’s Out
Six markets fell out of the top 20 from June’s list, but none fell very far. Syracuse, NY, Reading, PA, Springfield, IL, Peoria, IL and Rochester, NY fell to ranks ranging from 23 to 53, retaining substantial hotness despite their fall. These areas remained popular, emphasizing the recent draw of Midwest and Northeast metros, which have dominated the list since February 2022.
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 Albany, GA (153 spots lower), Mobile, AL (109 spots lower), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (108 spots lower), and Wichita Falls, TX (107 spots lower).
August 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 | -2 | 3.3 | 23 | -3 | $550,000 |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis. | 2 | -21 | 3 | 29 | -8 | $330,000 |
| Rockford, Ill. | 3 | -3 | 2.8 | 25 | -5 | $215,000 |
| Springfield, Mass. | 4 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 6 | $400,000 |
| Concord, N.H. | 5 | -4 | 3 | 32 | 1 | $560,000 |
| Worcester, Mass.-Conn. | 6 | 1 | 2.5 | 31 | 8 | $520,000 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. | 7 | -13 | 3.6 | 33 | -4 | $415,000 |
| Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. | 8 | 0 | 2.4 | 32 | 2 | $574,000 |
| Akron, Ohio | 9 | -6 | 2.4 | 33 | 1 | $245,000 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, Wis.-Minn. | 10 | -54 | 2.3 | 31 | -8 | $372,000 |
| Monroe, Mich | 10 | -8 | 2.4 | 33 | -1 | $295,000 |
| Racine, Wis. | 12 | -29 | 2.2 | 31 | -4 | $340,000 |
| Canton-Massillon, Ohio | 13 | -25 | 2.1 | 31 | -5 | $264,000 |
| New Haven-Milford, Conn. | 14 | -20 | 2.5 | 37 | -2 | $425,000 |
| Erie, Pa. | 15 | -12 | 2.9 | 38 | 1 | $243,000 |
| Columbus, Ohio | 16 | 9 | 2.2 | 36 | 10 | $385,000 |
| Dayton, Ohio | 17 | 8 | 2.1 | 35 | 9 | $255,000 |
| Janesville-Beloit, Wis. | 18 | -4 | 2.8 | 38 | 2 | $325,000 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. | 19 | -11 | 1.8 | 29 | 0 | $399,000 |
| Lancaster, Pa. | 20 | 6 | 2 | 34 | 3 | $414,000 |
| 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 did not ascend the hotness ranks, on average, compared to last year. This is the first month that large markets have not heated up annually since January 2023. Nevertheless, these areas pulled in 5.2% more views per listing than was typical in the U.S. in August, and homes spent 8 fewer days on the market than the U.S. median. Prices fell an average 1.5% in these markets, the second month of large-market average annual decline in the data’s history.
Large markets are starting to adjust to subdued buyer demand by lowering home prices and selling lower-priced 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. Affordable inventory continues to climb, with roughly 46% more homes priced between $200k and $350k on the market nationally compared to one year ago.
This month, the five most improved large metros were scattered across the country, with three Midwest, one Northeast, and one West market. The most improved housing markets were Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.(+67 spots), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (+62 spots), New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.(+49 spots), Pittsburgh, Pa.(+48 spots) and Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.(+46 spots). This month’s fastest climbing markets ranked between 95th (Philadelphia) and 223th (New York) on August’s list.
Large Markets with Biggest Jump in Rankings (August 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 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev. | 169 | -67 | 0.70 | 42 | -1 | -11 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. | 95 | -62 | 1.30 | 44 | -1 | -9 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. | 223 | -49 | 0.90 | 58 | -1 | 5 |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | 100 | -48 | 1.50 | 47 | -1 | -6 |
| Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. | 161 | -46 | 1.20 | 52 | 2 | -1 |
Allyn Maycumber Broker/Associate ERA Grizzard Realty 407-467-3862 Amaycumber@eragrizzard.com
