This Gateway City Is the Hottest Housing Market in the U.S.

The summer selling season turned into a slump, but one city has emerged on fire. Springfield, MA, is once again attracting the most online home shoppers, according to the Realtor.com® August 2025 Hottest Housing Markets.

The city took the spot for the fourth month in a row and it's the seventh time Springfield has been on top.

The reason: high demand and low inventory—this has driven Springfield to the leaderboard because of the views per property and time on market which are outpacing the rest of the country.

In August, Springfield attracted 3.2 times the viewers per property compared to the national norm, and homes spent about a month less time on the market. Springfield, considered a gateway city, is about 90 miles from Boston and just under 26 miles from Hartford, CT.

"While it's not Boston, Springfield is well-connected," Fred Loguidice, founder of Sell My House Fast Massachusetts, tells Realtor.com. "For many people priced out of the Boston area, or who want more space, Springfield offers a tradeoff—lower cost for still-decent access to jobs, culture, and amenities."

Springfield also has a median listing price of $355,000—much less than the national median list price of $429,990.

"There simply aren’t enough homes to meet buyer demand. That scarcity gives Springfield sellers an advantage—but it also means buyers need to move quickly and decisively," says Loguidice.

"Springfield continues to lead the pack. Homes there draw more eyes online and sell faster than the national average, keeping competition fierce," explains Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.

"Prices have been on the rise for more than a year—up 1.4% in August alone—and when you adjust for home size, values are climbing even faster. Price per square foot jumped 4.3% year over year, marking six straight years of growth and outpacing the national trend."

For people living in Springfield, being No. 1 may not come as a surprise. After all, the city is known as the "City of Firsts." It's a nickname Springfield earned as being the birthplace of basketball and of Theodor Geisel, better known as "Dr. Seuss." Among other "firsts": first volleyball game (1895), first public library in the U.S. (1857), first Rolls-Royce manufacturing (1920s).

"Springfield has a variety of neighborhoods—from more affordable ones to those with more charm and character," says Loguidice. "If you’re serious about buying, this market works in your favor if you’re ready. Homes don’t linger as long as in slower markets. Being prepped, pre-approved for mortgage, and ready to make decisions helps."

Coming in hot

Several cities across the U.S. join Springfield at the top as the hottest markets. Rounding out the top five: Kenosha, WI ($370,000); Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis ($350,000); Lancaster, Pa. ($416,000); and Manchester-Nashua, N.H. ($580,000).

Overall, the Northeast and the Midwest were again the only regions on August’s list with 9 and 11 markets, respectively. This month's list is the 23rd in a row that only contains Northeast and Midwest markets.

The Realtor.com Market Hotness rankings take into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique views per property on Realtor.com, and 2) the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains active on Realtor.com.

While the national market is ‘balanced,’ it varies widely: New metro-level months of supply data from Realtor.com show 7 buyer’s markets, 20 seller’s markets, and 23 in balance among the 50 largest metros, according to the Realtor.com August 2025 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report.