The 5 hottest and coolest housing markets in the United States

During the pandemic, the southern housing markets – in particular Florida – exploded while the record number of people moved to the region for its lower cost of living and relatively affordable houses. However, the heat index of Bankrate 2025 housing shows that the trend is now reversed.

Jeff Ostrowski, Bankrate’s housing market, told Business Insider that the solar belt had lost its advantage As buyers’ demand fades and home sellers reduce prices.

“During the pandemic, the North East fled for the Sun Belt, but this trend has slowed down and even reversed,” said Ostrowski, adding that in the North, “there is simply not much inventory, and with limited choices, buyers offer prices.”

Bankrate’s research team has analyzed 212 metros in the United States, considering factors such as the appreciation from one year to the other of the houses one year – the 40% weighted factor – as well as employment levels, employment growth, demographic trends, houses listed for typical sales and sales times.

According to the Bankrate index, the Northeast had a strong performance at the top, with three of the five main the hottest markets. It is a striking contrast with the 2023 classification, in which the hottest markets were largely of southern cities. The Metropolitan Region of New Haven-Milt of Connecticut, for example, has found its way to the first five in this year’s ranking, but was classified 82nd in 2023.

At the other end of the spectrum, Florida dominated the coldest markets, taking four of the five lower points.

The prices of houses are increasing throughout the country, but in Florida, where home insurance and land taxes are also increasing, owners feel even more crunchy – and potential buyers prefer to wait for it instead of buying.

According to the Bankrate’s ranking, the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro in Florida was one of the warmest in the country in 2023, landing in the first five. However, this year, it’s in the last five.

“I visited a number of open days on this market a few months ago, and I saw many lonely lonely agents sitting in the kitchens and waiting for buyers to pass,” said Ostrowski.

Here are the five hottest and coldest markets in the United States, according to Bankrate. The median home sales prices come from Zillow.com and the population estimates come from the US Census Bureau.