What Are the Top Ten Housing Markets for 2025?

Some of the usual suspects turn up on Realtor.com’s list for this year, but there are a few surprises too.

It’s not a surprise that the best housing markets for 2025 come exclusively from the U.S. South and the West but the individual metropolitan areas might offer a few unexpected choices.

Realtor.com’s rankings for the new year highlight those areas it forecasts are expected to have the best growth over the next 12 months. The common elements for the choices include what it calls moderately affordable homes, healthy inventory levels driven by new construction and a steady supply of younger families, often coming with connections to military or international origins.

“While nationwide home sales are expected to see a slight uptick this year,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at the website, said it would be “driven by a cooling in home price growth (and) the top markets we’ve identified are poised for stronger sales and price gains in 2025.

“With mortgage rates likely to ease only modestly next year, these markets—offering relatively lower-priced homes, more new and existing houses to choose from and mortgage products designed to give buyers a leg up—could provide some would-be buyers a better chance at entering the market next year,” he added.

The top 10 markets for 2025 are:

1. Colorado Springs, CO
2. Miami—Fort Lauderdale—Pompano Beach, FL
3. Virginia Beach—Norfolk—Newport News, VA
4. El Paso, TX
5. Richmond, VA
6. Orlando—Kissimmee—Sanford, FL
7. McAllen—Edinburg—Mission, TX
8. Phoenix—Mesa—Chandler, AZ
9. Atlanta—Sandy Springs—Alpharetta, GA
10. Greensboro—High Point, NC

While seven of the top 10 markets offer a more affordable cost of living compared to the US average, incomes tend to be lower as well.

As a result, Realtor.com said housing affordability remains a challenge, with buyers spending about 31.1 percent of their income on housing—higher than the national average of 29.2 percent.

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