Zillow has once again curated its list of the most popular housing markets, revealing a shift from the past two years. After West Coast dominance in 2021, followed by the Midwest gaining prominence in 2022, this year’s list features smaller cities and Northeastern charm.
Out of the top ten markets, four are in Connecticut and three in New Hampshire, putting the Northeast firmly at the top of Zillow searches.
What the Top 10 Markets Have in Common
The top ten markets on the 2023 list have a couple of features in common. The first is that Zillow users are searching for smaller cities—with just one market on the list with over 100,000 residents (Manchester, New Hampshire). In addition, and not surprisingly, affordable markets top the list.
“Affordability was the word on home shoppers’ minds this year, and it shows in the most popular cities that buyers on Zillow gravitated toward. Heading into next year, the winds appear to be shifting just a bit. Buying a home will still be expensive in much of the country, but more listings and much flatter home price growth will make life easier for home shoppers.”
On this episode of the Hot Sheet, Byron Lazine also noted a lack of inventory in the Northeast, which makes it so consumers are continuously searching, increasing website traffic and home prices in these areas.
“(The list) makes sense to me, because most of these towns are experiencing the lowest inventory throughout the country—the Northeast has that.”
Zillow’s 10 Most Popular Markets of 2023
To determine the most popular markets of the year, Zillow analyzed housing metrics including page-view traffic, home value growth and days on market for more than 2,000 U.S. cities.
The most popular markets of 2023 are:
- West Chester, Pennsylvania
- Nashua, New Hampshire
- Manchester, New Hampshire
- Wethersfield, Connecticut
- West Hartford, Connecticut
- Stow, Ohio
- Middletown, Connecticut
- Twinsburg, Ohio
- Newington, Connecticut
- Concord, New Hampshire
Zillow also broke down the following rankings:
- Most Popular Large City: Chula Vista, California
- Most Popular Seaside Town: South Portland, Maine
- Most Popular Vacation Town: Vermilion, Ohio
- Most Popular Retirement Town: Pinehurst, North Carolina
- Most Popular College Towns: West Chester, PA, and Kent, OH
For more information, read the full Zillow report.
