The Hottest U.S. Housing Markets
U.S. News & World Report did an analysis of the hottest housing market where they pulled from the U.S. News Housing Market Index. This index incorporate a wide array of data points, providing a simple yet comprehensive way to rank the covered metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) from frozen to blazing on a scale of 1-100. The particular ranking discussed is based on data from December 2023.
It was found that the following MSAs are the hottest housing markets ranked from first to fifth:
- Denver – 74.8
- Raleigh, North Carolina – 73.7
- Virginia Beach, Virginia – 73.2
- Durham, North Carolina – 72.8
- Charlotte, North Carolina – 72.0
According to U.S. News & World Report, During the COVID-19 pandemic, these markets benefited from unusually low mortgage rates and the desire for more living space. They still remain popular even as more workers have returned to offices and higher mortgage rates have made buying less affordable. In addition, most of these MSAs also offer the types of amenities found in larger cities without the downsides of a huge metro area such as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.
Once again named the hottest MSA overall, the Denver MSA retains a mix of strengths including low unemployment, few mortgage delinquencies, low rental vacancy rates for investors and a positive ratio of building permits to job growth.
However, a low housing supply of just 1.9 months at December’s sales rates and a low ratio of building permits to new household growth will continue to support home prices while maintaining a floor on rents until more housing inventory is available.
