From Record Highs To Affordable Options: Buffalo, New York's Rise In The Housing Market

Are you looking to buy a house in 2024? Hold on tight because we've got some surprising news for you! According to the real estate marketplace company Zillow, Buffalo, New York, has emerged as the hottest housing market of 2024, taking everyone by surprise.

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If you were looking for a house in 2023, then you may already know that housing prices reached record highs. Because of this, many homebuyers had to look outside of their desired neighborhoods and look elsewhere for more affordable housing.

This is where Buffalo stepped in and stole the show, getting the top spot on Zillow's list of most in-demand housing markets for 2024. In Buffalo, the typical home value is estimated at $248,445, and that makes it one of the most affordable cities on Zillow's top 10 list. What's incredible about that is last year, Buffalo didn't make the cut.

Hottest Housing Markets

Buffalo isn't the only city making headlines in the housing market scene. Coming in at number two is Cincinnati, Ohio, followed closely by Columbus at number three. Indianapolis and Providence, Rhode Island, rounded out the top five.

Some cities saw a shuffle in the rankings compared to last year. Charlotte, North Carolina, which claimed the top spot in 2023, fell to number 7 this year. Cleveland took a tumble from its number two position in 2023 to number eight in 2024. On the other hand, Atlanta climbed the ladder, moving from number nine in 2023 to number six this year.

Zillow also highlighted two Florida cities, Orlando and Tampa, ranking them at number 9 and number 10. It seems the Sunshine State has some hot housing markets all its own!

Zillow's report found that both boomers (ages 60 to 69) and millennials (ages 28 to 43) are the most active ages in the housing market. According to the report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, affordable housing is desired by older adults on a fixed income.

So, how does Zillow come up with these rankings? The company looks at home value growth, the speed at which the sellers gets a contract with the buyer, the number of new jobs compared to new homes, and the overall number of homeowners.