Sabrina Speianu

As noted in our 2024 National Housing Forecast, at a national level, we expect that housing affordability begins to turn around as mortgage rates ease and home prices dip. Although nationwide, home sales are expected to edge just slightly higher, some markets across the country are projected to fare differently. Sales growth is the main propellant for top housing markets in 2024, with price growth also contributing, but generally to a lesser degree. Affordable markets in the Northeast and Midwes…

According to Realtor.com®’s January housing data, the number of homes for sale is continuing to grow compared to last year as time on market slows but home inventory is still below pre-pandemic levels.

In this 2023 update to our best markets for first-time homebuyers, we will highlight which markets surfaced to the top of our list and explore some of the factors that make them an appealing choice. Whether you’re looking for a starter home or a forever home, these markets are worth looking into in 2023.

In December, people’s opinions about buying a home improved slightly due to lower interest rates and the expectation of them continuing to go down. However, people’s opinions about selling a home decreased due to the belief that home prices will go down in the future.

Realtor.com’s top 10 housing markets for 2023 are mid-sized manufacturing hubs where housing remains relatively affordable. Home sales and prices will continue to grow in these markets where housing did not experience the same level of pandemic frenzy as other areas.

Realtor.com®’s November housing data release reveals a housing market that continued to cool, with rising inventory levels, fewer pending listings, a slower pace of sales, and slowing price growth.

Realtor.com®’s October housing data release reveals that the inventory of homes that are actively listed for sale continued to grow and caught up to 2020 levels.

Realtor.com®’s September housing data release reveals that the housing market is continuing to moderate, with homes selling less quickly than last year, home inventory growth stalling, and listing price growth slowing.

Consumer sentiment toward housing remains at a more than 10 year low as measured by the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI). In August, the index dropped 0.8 points to 62.0 and is 13.7 points lower than the same time last year.

In April, investors bought a near-record-high share of homes, scooping up 9.5% of homes sold during the month, up 2.8 percentage points from the same time last year, but slightly lower than the 9.7% peak share in February.