The housing market is in flux right now — thanks to high mortgage rates, and persistent inflation — and homebuyers continue to be priced out of bigger cities.
According to Realtor.com's top 10 markets of 2023 report, people currently looking to buy a home are moving toward midsize cities in the South and Midwest.
Amid rising costs in 2023, housing markets in affordable, mid-sized manufacturing hubs will continue having an influx of homebuyers.
Realtor.com's methodology for the report included using data on the housing market and overall economy to estimate 2023 values for the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas by population size.
The cities were then ranked by combined forecasted home prices and sales growth.
No. 1 housing market of 2023: Hartford-West Hartford, CT
Median home price: $372,000
Expected growth percentage in 2023: 8.5%
Hartford, Connecticut — also known as the world's insurance capital — is home to the headquarters of more than 100 insurance companies.
As a result, Connecticut has the highest number of insurance professionals per capita in the U.S., according to Connecticut Insurance Department.
When it comes to the housing market, Hartford, CT, is somewhat competitive, according to Redfin.com. The average sale price of a home was up 2% from last year.
Top 10 housing markets of 2023
- Hartford-West Hartford, CT
- El Paso, TX
- Louisville, KY
- Worcester, MA
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
- Augusta-Richmond County, GA, SC
- Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
- Columbia, SC
- Chattanooga, TN, GA
- Toledo, OH
The second city on the list is El Paso, Texas. According to Realtor.com, the 2023 price growth year over year is 5.4%, and the median home price is $291,000. It is below the U.S. median, which is $397,408, according to Redfin.
The report also states that 53.9% of Realtor.com's online views and searches of El Paso came from outside Texas and nearly 10% from other parts of the state.
The same can be said for the third city on the list, Louisville, Kentucky. It has a median home price of $300,000 and a 2023 price growth of 8.4% year over year.
According to Realtor.com's report, 49.8% of homebuyers looking at the city were from outside the state of Kentucky.
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