Buyers seek affordability as Midwest tops most popular ZIP codes
When it comes to home sales, the Midwest and Northeast are hot, according to the annual Realtor.com Hottest ZIP Codes report.
Home buyers are looking for value. Each of this year’s 10 top ZIP codes in America is attracting buyers with homes that are either priced at or below the U.S. median, or are larger in size than the U.S. average.
Homes listed within the hottest ZIPs received an average of 3.6 more views per listing than in the rest of the country and sold one month faster than average in 2023.
The 2023 list, ranked in order, is as follows:
1. 43230, Gahanna, Ohio
2. 06489, Southington, Connecticut
3. 07450, Ridgewood, New Jersey
4. 01810, Andover, Massachusetts.
5. 18064, Nazareth, Pennsylvania
6. 46322, Highland, Indiana
7. 48183, Trenton, Michigan
8. 06851, Norwalk, Connecticut
9. 14534, Pittsford, New York
10. 63021, Ballwin, Missouri.
This year’s top ZIP Code in Gahanna, Ohio is a continuation of Columbus, Ohio markets appearing on the hottest ZIP codes list. The greater Columbus area offers home buyers the amenities and quality-of-life advantages of a larger town, but at a lower price, Realtor.com said in its report. Columbus is home to The Ohio State University.
For the first time in five years, the suburbs of five major metropolitan areas – Boston, New York, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis – are represented on the annual report. There’s a renewed interest in homes in commutable areas as much of the country’s workforce returns to in-person work, the report said.
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People who have been shopping for a home in 2023 are going to areas that are more affordable relative to the rest of the country, less expensive than their nearby metro area, or provide better value, offering more space at a lower price.
“As many companies continue to call employees back to the office, we’re seeing a surge in home shoppers who are seeking a desirable combination of cost and convenience within commuting distance of major metropolitan areas,” Danielle Hale, economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “In addition to affordable markets, this year’s list also features some higher-priced areas close to large urban cores, which will likely appeal to buyers who are concerned with finding the right mix of size and amenities within reach of a nearby city center.”
Beyond lower-price Midwest areas, No. 3 on the list is Ridgewood, New Jersey, a high-priced suburb of New York City. It’s a one-hour commute from Manhattan with a suburban feel. Andover, Massachusetts is No. 4 and a suburb of Boston, with a commute into the city in under an hour.
In 7 out of 10 of this year’s hottest ZIP codes, the typical home is larger than the average home in the surrounding metro area. Among the more expensive locations on the list, the typical household size is also larger, indicating that home shoppers in places such as Ridgewood and Andover may be looking for more space to accommodate a larger family.
Only the Northeast and Midwest are represented in this year’s ranking, the first time in the list’s history that only two regions are included. The South and West regions are not represented among this year’s rankings.
The rankings are based on an algorithm incorporating market demand, as measured by unique viewers per property on Realtor.com, and the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains active on Realtor.com. The hottest areas are those that have high demand from buyers.
