After a tough 2024, prospective homebuyers aren’t expected to see much relief this year.
Higher-than-usual homebuying costs, paired with low housing supply nationwide, has made the process of buying a home increasingly competitive. This has created what’s known as a “seller’s market” in several major cities, where demand for homes (i.e. the number of people looking to buy) outpaces the amount of homes available, or supply.
This has been driven by low inventory, and high home prices and mortgage rates — all trends that are widely expected to continue this year. However, Realtor.com (NWSA) expects that the market will be more balanced this year, with some power returning to buyers.
Looking to finally relocate this year? Zillow (Z) ranked U.S. cities by their projected competitiveness using several metrics, including: forecasted annual home value appreciation; forecasted acceleration in home value appreciation; listing days per home; two-year change in total employment per two-year residential building permit total; and projected change in owner-occupied households.
Take a look at the 10 housing markets that are expected to be the hottest this year, according to Zillow.
In tenth place is Salt Lake City, where the median listing home price was $550,000 in December 2024, according to Realtor.com data.
Richmond, where the median home price at the end of last year hovered at around $360,000 nabbed the no. 9 spot on Zillow’s ranking.
With a median listing price of $250,000, Kansas City is next on the list of the most competitive housing markets in 2025.
Coming in at no. 7 is Charlotte. As of December 2024, the median listing price in the city was $425,000.
St. Louis is expected to be the sixth-most competitive housing market this year, with a median listing price of $195,000 going into 2025.
The fifth-hottest real estate market expected for 2025 is Philadelphia, where the median listing price of homes in December 2024 was $270,000.
Hartford takes the no. 4 spot. In December 2024, homes in the city had a median listing price of $250,000.
Last year, Hartford was among the cities where the inventory was both lowest — and sold fastest, according to Zillow. The real estate site also projects that Hartford will see one of the biggest drops in homeowning households this year.
A more affordable alternative to major Northeastern hubs, Providence is the third-hottest housing market of 2025, according to Zillow. The Rhode Island capital had a median listing price of $410,000 at the end of last year.
Indianapolis, with a median listing price of $260,000, ranks second place in Zillow’s projections. It’s the only city in the top 5 to have a rising outlook for home value appreciation this year, expected to have greater growth in home prices than in 2024.
For the second year in a row, Buffalo is projected to be the hottest housing market in the country, according to Zillow. As of December 2024, the median listing price in Buffalo was around $215,000 — a 22.6% year-over-year jump.
Competition among buyers in the city was red hot in 2024, and Zillow expects that to continue into this year. One key driver of increased interest in Buffalo is that it has the most new jobs per new home permitted, setting the city up for continued growth.
The post The 10 most competitive housing markets in 2025, according to Zillow appeared first on Quartz.
