Top Hot Spots for Homebuyers in 2026

Aspiring homeowners planning to buy in 2026 can expect improved affordability and inventory compared with recent years—but some markets are poised to offer more opportunities than others.  

The National Association of Realtors® released a new report on Tuesday identifying the top 10 housing hot spots for 2026, highlighting metros with strong buyer-demand potential, improving affordability, and inventory that is expected to better line up with buyers' budgets. 

The 10 metros on the NAR list are not ranked but ordered alphabetically. Five are located in the South, three in the Midwest, and two in the West, but none in the Northeast.

The standout markets identified by NAR researchers have populations over 250,000 and outperform the average U.S. metro on at least 5 of 10 economic, demographic, and housing indicators, including
household income growth, job growth, impact of lower mortgage rates, and domestic migration as a share of the population.

"These markets offer something that's been in short supply nationally: room to grow," NAR senior economist Nadia Evangelou tells Realtor.com®. "Homes are more affordable, so buyers can get more space and better value for their money."

Another factor that distinguishes the housing hot spots is that their local economies are expanding, creating steady job opportunities and attracting transplants from other parts of the U.S.

Here is the full list of the top 10 hot spots:

• Charleston, SC
• Charlotte, NC
• Columbus, OH
• Indianapolis, IN
• Jacksonville, FL
• Minneapolis, MN
• Raleigh, NC
• Richmond, VA
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Spokane, WA

While these markets are all distinct, Evangelou says they share an important common through line.

"What ties them together is that these markets are seeing significant improvement in how well listings align with local incomes, far more than most markets nationwide," explains the economist. "They also have many households sitting right at the edge of affordability, so even a small drop in mortgage rates next year could bring many buyers. And with strong job growth and solid demographic trends, these markets are simply better positioned to pick up momentum in 2026."

Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel points out that the metros highlighted by NAR are all relatively affordable compared to their regional or subregional averages, which he says aligns with Realtor.com researchers' expectations for 2026.

"It will be another year where buyers are chiefly motivated by finding value for money in a high-rate environment," adds Krimmel. The listed cities are "also potentially very good markets for young, first-time buyers."

Fast-growing Southern metro is one to watch

While NAR does not formally rank the top 10 markets, Evangelou says Charleston is a metro that stands out from the crowd.

According to the report, the city's inventory is growing at the right price points, offering would-be buyers greater affordability than many other locations.

NAR reports that with mortgage rates projected to ease to 6% in 2026, more than 20,000 additional households in Charleston would be able to afford median-priced homes.

Population growth in the metro remains among the fastest in the area, fueled by both millennial households and high-income transplants from the Northeast.

Additionally, income growth in Charleston is 6% year over year, while job growth is up 3.2% compared to 2024.

"It's the market where lower mortgage rates would make the biggest difference for buyers, and it’s seeing strong improvements in how well inventory matches local incomes," says Evangelou. "It also has fast income growth, big migration gains, and fewer price cuts. All signs that buyers and sellers are better aligned."

Market challenges keep Northeast off the list

Notably, not a single Northeastern metro made the NAR list of housing hot spots, which Evangelou attributes to two major hurdles facing the region's housing market.

"Homes remain expensive for many families, and inventory is especially limited at the price points people can actually afford," she notes. "Because of that, prices and incomes don’t line up as well as they do in other regions. Those affordability and inventory pressures made it harder for Northeast metros to stand out in this year's top markets list."

These findings align with the November 2025 housing market trends report from Realtor.com, which shows that year-over-year inventory growth continues to lag in the Northeast, while the West and South posted the largest gains. 

Evangelou points out that despite the challenges, the Northeast "has a lot of economic strength." Similarly, researchers at Realtor.com expect the region to remain resilient in the coming year.