As the year comes to a close, it’s time to look ahead, and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is already forecasting the most promising housing markets for 2025.

This Thursday, the NAR released its list of The Top 10 Housing Hot Spots for 2025, predominantly featuring cities in the Appalachian region, including areas in the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Indiana.

Aside from highlighting these rising markets, the NAR is also making additional predictions. They announced that mortgage rates are anticipated to stabilize in the upcoming year, hovering around 6%. With this development, the NAR expects an increase in potential buyers, projecting that there will be 4.5 million existing homes available for sale in 2025. For context, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.78% in November, according to the association.

While there may be more homes on the market next year, prices are expected to remain high. The NAR estimates that the median price for existing houses will be about $410,700 in 2025.

Curious to find out which cities are gaining traction? Here’s the list of the top 10 housing hot spots for 2025.

Top 10 Housing Hot Spots for 2025

The following cities are listed in alphabetical order:

• Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts and New Hampshire
• Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina and South Carolina
• Grand Rapids-Kentwood, Michigan
• Greenville-Anderson, South Carolina
• Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, Connecticut
• Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana
• Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona
• San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas

How Were These Locations Determined?

The NAR selected these top 10 housing hot spots by examining key economic, demographic, and housing indicators against national averages:

• Fewer homeowners locked into current mortgages
• Lower average mortgage rates
• Rapid job growth
• A rising number of millennial renters ready to purchase
• Higher rates of net migration
• More households reaching homebuying age in the next five years
• Increased movement from out-of-state residents
• A longer tenure for existing homeowners
• More starter homes available
• Quicker appreciation of home prices

What Are the Mortgage Rates in These Hot Spots?

If you cannot view the chart in your browser, check it out at public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20780837/.