The Northeast was home to 13 of the nation’s top 20 housing markets in May, with for-sale listings in popular boomtowns such as Manchester, N.H., seeing three times as many views as the national average and selling within just 11 days after hitting the market. At No. 2 was Concord, N.H., where homes sold within 14 days, despite a local median listing price of $526,000.
While several markets in the Midwest made the top 20 list, Western and Southern markets were notably absent from Realtor.com’s Hottest Markets List.
Manchester has taken this top spot 19 times in this data’s history, and for good reason: It’s within commuting distance of pricey Boston. While Manchester’s median-priced home in May was $523,000, admittedly higher than the national median of $441,000, it’s still far less than Boston’s $867,000, making it the perfect bedroom community of its more expensive neighbor.
“The late spring housing market may be sluggish nationally, but May’s hottest markets are still seeing high demand and a quick pace of sale,” Hannah Jones, economics data analyst at Realtor.com, wrote in the report.
“The Northeast has it all, from big business centers with strong employment and good job opportunities, to access to the coast and mountains and high-quality education,” Jones said. “It makes sense that there’s so much demand to be in that area. That’s what a lot of people are looking for.”
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