July 2024 Hottest Housing Markets

Highlights

• The Oshkosh-Neenah, WI metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market for the first time in the data’s history.
• Prices were stable nationwide but the month’s hottest markets saw more substantial price growth (+11.0%) 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. July’s list is the 10th 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 73 spots to rank as the 184th hottest US market in July.

The Oshkosh-Neenah, WI metro area ranked as the country’s hottest housing market in July for the first time in the data’s history. The Oshkosh metro heated up over the last few months, climbing from the 20th ranked market in May to the 4th in June and the first in July. Though Oshkosh had not topped the list before July, it has been a mainstay of the top 20 for the last year.

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 Accelerates in Hottest Markets

Both price growth and demand outpace the national trend in the hottest markets. Home prices were flat year-over-year nationally in July, but the hottest markets saw still-climbing prices. Price growth in the hottest markets picked up from 8.1% in June to an average 11.0% in July as competition heated up. Demand, as measured by views per property, was 2.8 times the national level in the hottest markets in July, the same as the previous month. 

This month’s hottest market, Oshkosh-Neenah, WI, saw 3.7 times the listing viewership as was typical in the U.S. in July and prices in the metro climbed 15.0% year-over-year. 

While active listings were up 36.6% year-over-year nationally in July, the hottest markets saw more subdued listing growth. On average, the 20 hottest markets saw inventory increase 18.4% year-over-year in July. Inventory was roughly 30% below pre-pandemic levels in July nationally, but the hottest markets saw an average 66.9% 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 an average of 5 days faster than last year and roughly half the national median in July, with homes in these locales spending just 26 days on the market.

Who’s In

All but six markets on the July Hottest Housing Markets list were also on June’s list. Monroe, MI, and Rochester, NY, jumped from 36th and 38th to 6th and 9th, respectively. Though these two markets jumped the most, Lancaster, PA, Peoria, IL, Green Bay, WI and Cleveland-Elyria, 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 Bellingham, WA (131 spots hotter), Syracuse, NY (107 spots hotter), and Champaign-Urbana, IL (102 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 Bridgeport-Stamford, CT, Columbus, OH, Reading, PA, Erie, PA, Lafayette, IN and Norwich, CT fell to ranks ranging from 22 to 43, 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 Lubbock, TX (131 spots lower), Wichita Falls, TX (116 spots lower), Decatur, AL (112 spots lower), and Yuma, AZ (104 spots lower).

July 2024 – Top 20 Hottest Housing Markets

Not in the top 20? See rankings for the top 300 markets

Most Improved Large Markets

Larger urban markets heated up this month, with the largest 40 markets across the country getting 3 ranks hotter, on average, since July 2023. Large metros continue to heat up year-over-year, but by the lowest margin since February 2023. These areas pulled in about 6.5% more views per listing than was typical in the U.S. in July, and homes spent 9 fewer days on the market than the U.S. median. Prices fell an average 1.1% in these markets, the first large-market average annual decline in the data’s history. This suggests that 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 is on the rise, with roughly 47% 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.(+73 spots), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (+69 spots), Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.(+63 spots),  Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (+63 spots), and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (+61 spots). This month’s fastest climbing markets ranked between 55th (Chicago) and 184th (Las Vegas) on July’s list. 

Markets Seeing the Largest Jump in Rankings (July 2024)