
Affordable cities named the hottest housing markets for 2025
By
Second-tier cities are having a major moment — and Buffalo just proved it by topping a hottest housing market list for the second year in a row. Crushed by sky-high home prices and soaring mortgage rates, Americans are fleeing pricey metros and turning to smaller, more affordable cities.
Zillow's latest 'hottest housing markets' report reveals that less-hyped cities are now outperforming the usual stars. Real estate experts analyzed projected home value growth, job openings, inventory levels, and population shifts These rising markets may be tough for buyers, but for sellers, they're goldmines.
Buffalo, New York, took the top spot for the second year in a row — the first time a city has repeated in the study's history. The city's home values are booming thanks to a growing job market and tight housing supply. As employers rush to hire, there simply aren't enough homes to go around — and that's driving up prices.
Zillow believes Buffalo homeowners are benefitting from this supply and demand imbalance. Because new, competitive employees are trying to buy homes in an area with a dearth of available residences, home values have increased. Indianapolis, landing in the number two spot, is also projected to see higher home price appreciation in 2025 than in 2024.
Last year, the northcentral hub saw a 2.8 percent average annual appreciation in their housing market. Zillow expects the rate to jump to 3.4 percent in 2025. Rounding out the top five are cities within an earshot of New York City and Boston – Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; and Philadelphia. In the rest of the American housing market, the amount of available homes improved in 2024.
However, the rate of home sales has not gotten back to pre-pandemic levels. In turn, competition for lower supplies have remained high. The site also predicted some of the needle-moving moves across the market for other major cities not on the hottest list.
2024's fastest-selling markets — Hartford; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Columbus, Ohio — are likely to stay in high demand through 2025, the site said. Buyers may be able to snag some better-than-expected prices in other sought-after cities, the report also found. Zillow predicts major cities — including New Orleans, San Francisco, and Austin — will be among the least competitive markets in 2025.
Facing weaker job growth numbers, housing prices are expected to depreciate. New Orleans, for example, is forecasted to see a 3.8% price drop. Buffalo's sustained dominance highlights a shifting housing market landscape . Expensive housing markets are predicted to lose competitive homebuyers, while shoppers continue to look for hidden gems in historically second-tier markets. The demographic shifts are also making people flock to previously unheard-of cities. 'I believe we are the nation's best-kept secret,' Jennifer Bryndal, a real estate broker said of one idyllic Florida town . 'We are growing fast.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
World Bank to end ban on nuclear energy projects, still debating upstream gas
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - The World Bank's board has agreed to end a longstanding ban on funding nuclear energy projects in developing countries as part of a broader push to meet rising electricity needs, the bank's president Ajay Banga said on Wednesday. Banga outlined the bank's revised energy strategy in an email to staff after what he called a constructive discussion with the board on Tuesday. He said the board was not yet in agreement on whether the bank should engage in upstream natural gas projects, and if so, under what circumstances. "This will require further discussion," he wrote. The global development bank, which lends at low rates to help countries build everything from flood barriers to railroads, announced in 2017 it would stop funding upstream oil and gas projects beginning in 2019, although it would still consider gas projects in the poorest countries. It decided in 2013 to stop funding nuclear power projects. Banga has championed a shift in the bank's energy policy since taking office in June 2023, arguing the bank should pursue an "all of the above" approach to help countries meet rising electricity needs and advance development goals.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Airlines could be selling passenger's private data to the government
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may have purchased Americans' flight Data from Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a Data broker owned by major U.S. Airlines, without their knowledge, according to internal CBP documents obtained by 404 Media. The Data includes passengers' names, itineraries, and financial information, and CBP requires it to support law enforcement in tracking individuals of interest. Senator Ron Wyden criticized the practice, stating that Airlines are selling sensitive information to the Government and that ARC has refused to answer oversight questions from Congress. ARC's Travel Intelligence Program (TIP) provides the Data, which includes over a billion records updated daily, covering both past and future travel arrangements made through ARC-accredited travel agencies. CBP stated it is committed to protecting individuals' privacy and follows a robust privacy policy, while ARC said TIP was established after 9/11 to provide Data to law enforcement for national security and criminal probes.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Oracle beats quarterly revenue estimates
June 11 (Reuters) - Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab surpassed fourth-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday, boosted by growing demand for its cloud offerings from companies deploying artificial intelligence. Revenue for the quarter stood at $15.90 billion, compared with the analysts' average estimate of $15.59 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.