(NewsNation) — There are over 41,000 zip codes across the U.S. but this year’s top areas for homebuyers are all in the Midwest and Northeast.
For the second year in a row, ZIP 43230 in Gahanna, Ohio, is the hottest zip code in the country, according to Realtor.com’s new annual rankings.
With major companies like Intel and Google expanding nearby, the Columbus suburb offers “big city amenities at a small town price,” the report said. Homes in the area were priced nearly 20% below the national median and were typically off the market within 11 days.
Ballwin, Missouri, a western suburb of St. Louis, ranked second for its low crime and access to the nearby city. Typical homes there were listed for $409,000 and flew off the market within 16 days.
Northeastern towns including Salem, Massachusetts; Basking Ridge, New Jersey and Rochester, New York rounded out the top five.
“Buyers have homed in on affordable Midwest and well-located Northeast metros that offer some combination of value and desirability,” Realtor.com senior economic analyst Hannah Jones said in a release.
Homes in the hottest ZIPs spent an average of 13 days on the market in June 2024, more than a month less than the national median, according to the report.
The latest rankings come amid a challenging time for homebuyers facing low supply, elevated mortgage rates and record-high prices. However, some indications suggest the market is beginning to shift from sellers to buyers.
Housing inventory is up 23% from a year ago, reaching 1.32 million units at the end of June, data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows. Recent changes to real estate agent commissions may also benefit buyers.
Zip codes in the West and South were notably absent from this year’s rankings as homebuyers flocked to markets that offered more bang for their buck. Over half of the top ZIP codes had median list prices below the current national median of $439,950.
Even in the list’s highest-priced market, Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where the median home list price was $967,000, homes were affordable relative to nearby New York City.
Realtor.com based its rankings on listing data from January to June 2024. The analysis looked at the number of unique viewers per property and the number of days a listing remained active. The hottest areas were those that had high demand from buyers.
The 10 hottest zip codes in 2024, according to Realtor.com:
- 43230 — Gahanna, Ohio
- 63021 — Ballwin, Missouri
- 01970 — Salem, Massachusetts
- 07920 — Basking Ridge, New Jersey
- 14609 — Rochester, New York
- 08054 — Mount Laurel, New Jersey
- 01453 — Leominster, Massachusetts
- 01085 — Westfield, Massachusetts
- 46322 — Highland, Indiana
- 18062 — Macungie, Pennsylvania
