Highlights
- Manchester-Nashua, N.H. claimed the top spot this month, ranking as the country’s hottest market for the 33rd time in the data’s history (back to mid-2017).
- Prices were flat nationally but the month’s hottest markets saw slight price growth (+1.6%) due to high demand and scarce for-sale inventory.
- The Northeast and the Midwest were the only regions on this month’s list with 15 and 5 markets, respectively. March’s list is the 18th in a row that only contains Northeast and Midwest markets.
- On average, 12.1% of homes in the hottest markets saw a price reduction, more than 5 percentage points lower than the national norm.
- The Philadelphia and Baltimore metro areas saw the biggest jump in hotness ranking among large US metros compared to last year, climbing 54 spots to rank as the 54th and 86th, respectively, in March.
The Manchester-Nashua, N.H. metro area once again ranked as the country’s hottest housing market in March. This Northeast powerhouse has ranked number one a total of 33 times. Manchester-Nashua saw homes sell in just 30 days in March and attracted 3.6 times the listing viewership as the national norm.
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.
Prices climb in more than half of the hottest markets
Most of the hottest markets saw more significant price growth than the national norm in March. Prices picked up in 13 of the 20 hottest markets, with Reading, PA (+10.5%) and Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (+10.0%) even seeing double-digit price growth. Controlling for home size, price per square foot climbed in 17 of the 20 hottest markets. Price growth is the product of high competition, which pushes views-per-property higher, and time on market lower. On average, homes in the hottest markets attracted 2.9 times the listing viewership as the typical U.S. home in March, and homes sold in an average 32 days, 3 weeks faster than the national norm.
Hot markets see lower share of price reductions
By definition, the country’s hottest markets see high buyer demand and quick home sales, which suggests sellers are in a more favorable position. On average, 12.1% of homes in these markets saw a price reduction, more than 5 percentage points lower than the national norm. Only one market (Akron, OH) saw more price reductions than the national norm. Moreover, price reductions in the hottest markets picked up an average 0.7 percentage points in March, much lower than the 2.5 percentage point pickup nationally.
More competitive market conditions are good for sellers, but make buying more difficult for hopeful homeowners. On the bright side, twelve of the hottest markets were priced lower than the national median, meaning persistent buyers may still be able to get a good deal in these in-demand metros.
March 2025: 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 |
| Manchester-Nashua, N.H. | 1 | 0 | 3.6 | 30 | 11 | $565,000 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. | 2 | -15 | 4.5 | 30 | -8 | $450,000 |
| Rockford, Ill. | 2 | -15 | 3.1 | 25 | -12 | $249,000 |
| Springfield, Mass. | 4 | 1 | 3.3 | 31 | 8 | $330,000 |
| Worcester, Mass.-Conn. | 5 | 1 | 2.9 | 25 | 3 | $550,000 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn. | 6 | -10 | 3.1 | 31 | -6 | $799,000 |
| Rochester, N.Y. | 7 | 5 | 3.1 | 33 | 13 | $280,000 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 8 | 3 | 3.4 | 36 | 11 | $500,000 |
| Reading, Pa. | 9 | -23 | 2.4 | 30 | -6 | $330,000 |
| Lancaster, Pa. | 10 | -17 | 2.6 | 33 | -4 | $400,000 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. | 11 | 1 | 2.2 | 25 | 1 | $869,000 |
| Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. | 12 | -1 | 2.7 | 36 | 1 | $550,000 |
| Racine, Wis. | 13 | -16 | 2.3 | 32 | -5 | $360,000 |
| Concord, N.H. | 14 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 8 | $540,000 |
| State College, Pa. | 15 | -24 | 2.1 | 29 | -7 | $388,000 |
| Canton-Massillon, Ohio | 16 | -31 | 2.3 | 35 | -6 | $240,000 |
| Binghamton, N.Y. | 17 | -42 | 3 | 38 | -8 | $200,000 |
| Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 18 | -6 | 3 | 38 | -1 | $395,000 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. | 19 | 2 | 2.2 | 31 | 2 | $375,000 |
| Akron, Ohio | 20 | -6 | 2.6 | 37 | -1 | $225,000 |
Not in the top 20? See rankings for the top 300 markets
Most improved large markets
The largest 40 markets across the country cooled by 1 spot in hotness rank, on average, compared to last year. This is the smallest slowdown since August, when large markets were getting hotter annually. These largest 40 areas pulled in 14.6% more views per listing than was typical in the U.S. in March, and homes spent 11 fewer days on the market than the U.S. median. Prices fell an average 1.1% in these markets, the tenth month in a row of large-market average annual price decline.
Large, often high-priced, markets continue to adjust to subdued buyer demand by lowering home prices and selling smaller, more affordable homes. Some of the slowing price growth both nationally and in the largest markets is due to a change in the mix of inventory for sale.
Among these largest metros, the most improved housing markets were Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md. (54 spots hotter), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (54 spots hotter), New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (49 spots hotter), Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (45 spots hotter) and Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich (28 spots hotter). This month’s fastest climbing markets ranked between 54th (Philadelphia) and 166th (New York) on March’s list.
Large Markets With the Biggest Jump in Rankings (March 2025)
| 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 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md. | 86 | -54 | 0.9 | 29 | -7 | -24 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. | 54 | -54 | 1.6 | 39 | -4 | -14 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. | 166 | -49 | 1.0 | 48 | -2 | -5 |
| Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. | 135 | -45 | 1.3 | 51 | 0 | -2 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich | 64 | -28 | 1.5 | 42 | 0 | -11 |
What does this mean for buyers, sellers, and the housing market?
Not much has changed in terms of the country’s hottest markets. Affordable Midwest markets and well-located Northeast markets are still at the helm as buyers look for relative affordability and more sluggish construction in these markets means that housing demand persistently outmatches supply. The country’s hottest markets still see relatively high demand, but even these bustling markets saw prices climb just 1.6% in March, well below their pandemic-era peak of 19.3% in December 2022. Even the country’s hottest markets are leveling off as high housing costs limit buyer demand.
Though the housing market typically ramps up in the spring, high home prices, stubbornly-high mortgage rates and general economic uncertainty could keep a lid on the spring’s activity. Mortgage rates have leveled off, but they remain in the 6.6% range, doing little to sway homeowners to get into the market. Roughly 82% of mortgage holders have an interest rate below 6%, meaning many feel ‘locked-in’ and may need more convincing to list their home for sale.
