As much as we hate to admit it, buying a home in NYC may unfortunately be a pipe dream–NYC is the second most unaffordable city for buying a starter home, and even if you were interested in buying one you’d need a salary of at least $186.1K. And the younger generation looking to to purchase their first homes don’t have it any better, in fact, NY housing is 3.17x less affordable for Millennials & Gen Z, and it takes homebuyers an average of 12.45 years to save a 20% down payment for a home in NYC.
And sure, you could avoid purchasing a home in the NYC neighborhoods that are more expensive to do so, but if you’re willing to leave the city behind there are other areas not too far that are experiencing a real estate boom, albeit there may still be a bit of competition. But that just means the deal is great, right?!
In the midst of volatile mortgage rates and affordability challenges, Zillow economists have set out to find the hottest housing markets for 2025, where prices are relatively low, job growth is achievable, and the competition is stiff–like, homes selling in as little as one week, stiff, which is nearly three weeks less than the national average as of November 2024.
Topping the list for the second year in a row is Buffalo, NY. Zillow writes:
This city, famous for epic snowstorms and proximity to Niagara Falls, one of the world’s great natural wonders, saw home values grow 5.8% year over year in 2024. Growth this year is expected to slow down. The typical home is forecast to rise 2.8% to $267,878 in 2025, with homes going from listing to pending in only 12 days.
To come up with the list, Zillow analyzed the 50 largest U.S. metro areas on the following:
- Home value growth
- Projected change in owner-occupied households
- Job growth compared to new construction
- The speed at which homes are sold
Only four metros from last year’s list made the cut for 2025, and the full list of the hottest housing markets for 2025 is as follows:
1. Buffalo, NY
2. Indianapolis, IN
3. Providence, RI
4. Hartford, CT
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. St. Louis, MO
7. Charlotte, NC
8. Kansas City, MO
9. Richmond, VA
10. Salt Lake City, UT