Realtor.com has officially published the results of a new study, which focused upon finding the most popular markets for online home searchers. According to certain reports, the stated study went about its business by examining online views of for-sale listings on the Realtor.com marketplace, and it did so across metropolitan areas from July 2023 to June 2024. In essence, the platform would calculate the online traffic share for each market by comparing the listing views received by that market to the total online views generated on Realtor.com. Markedly enough, views per property (vs. US) were estimated by the count of online views a typical property receives in the specified geography divided by the count of views a typical property receives in the US overall during that time period. Complimenting the given methodology is an all-new Regional Traffic Concentration Index which was created based on the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), ranging from 0 to 1. For each market, Realtor.com created the stated index by calculating traffic share from each region, squaring the same, and then bringing the results together. Now, while the platform calculated these metrics for all markets in the U.S, it only ranked the top 300 largest metros for this research. Having referred to the study’s methodology, we now must dig into its results. Securing the top spot on Realtor.com’s list of most popular housing markets was Columbus, Ohio, which clocked such a feat largely because of its affordability that made it an attractive option for families and young professionals. The second market happened to be of Knoxville, Tennessee. Supported by a warmer climate, abundant housing inventory, and relatively affordable prices, Knoxville was recognized as the top emerging housing market in both summer and fall of 2023. Besides the given factors, homeowners here can also come expecting an optimal blend of urban and suburban living, growing job opportunities, and numerous outdoor activities that make it especially attractive for families.
Another southern city which made it into Realtor.com’s top 10 housing markets was Tampa, Florida. Placed at seven, Tampa managed to be on the list despite median listing price in the city increasing by nearly 50% during the past five years (pre-pandemic). Among other Southern cities, the list gave a mention to Louisville, Ky, Charleston, S.C., and Asheville, N.C. Not just south, but the Midwest also had multiple cities on Realtor.com’s list, with Detroit, Michigan making the cut. In fact, Detroit is understood to be the largest market here, boasting a population of over 4 million people and offering affordability with a median listing price of $252,000 over the past year. Then, there is Pittsburgh, which has steadily become a top destination for college graduates. Deemed as the most popular housing market in Northeast over the past 12 months, Pittsburgh delivers at your disposal a lower cost of living, all while enjoying a diverse and growing economy with strengths in technology, healthcare, education, and finance. Alongside that, the list had several other Northeastern markets in Portland, Maine and Hartford, Connecticut that qualified for this exercise because of their smaller size, which offers a more manageable lifestyle with a strong sense of community and cultural identity, making them popular alternatives to larger cities.
“With a mix of affordability and growing inventory, these markets were sought out by online home shoppers, earning them a spot on our Most Popular Markets ranking,” said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com. “What’s notable is that these ten metros are large enough to attract those making the hard decision to move to a new area, but also still generally small and affordable enough to hold onto local home shoppers. With lower housing costs and more homes for sale, these second cities clustered in the South, Midwest, and Northeast, are likely to continue to attract movers from all over.”
