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ccording to the National Association of Realtors’ most recent annual outlook, the U.S. housing market is poised for a rebound in 2026, with ten metropolitan areas identified as the most promising for buyers returning to the market. The cities highlighted are:
- Charleston, S.C.
- Charlotte, N.C.–S.C.
- Columbus, Ohio
- Indianapolis, Ind.
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- Minneapolis‑St. Paul, Minn.–Wis.
- Raleigh, N.C.
- Richmond, Va.
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Spokane, Wash.
To earn a spot, each metro had to outperform the national average on at least five of ten key indicators, maintain a population exceeding 250,000, and show clear 2026 buying opportunities for both consumers and real‑estate professionals.
“Lower mortgage rates and a larger inventory will bring buyers back in 2026,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “These hot‑spot markets combine strong demand potential, improving affordability, and a housing stock that fits the budgets of returning buyers.”
NAR’s national forecast signals a broad‑based recovery after several years of muted activity: existing‑home sales are projected to rise 14 %, home prices to climb about 4 %, mortgage rates to trend toward 6 %, and roughly 1.3 million new jobs are expected to be created. Yun added, “After three years of flat sales, a solid double‑digit increase is expected in 2026. Higher inventory, modest gains in affordability, and a more accommodative monetary policy from the Federal Reserve should help more Americans move forward with buying their next home.”
The selection process weighed how each market performed relative to the nation across ten indicators: the share of millennial households, household income growth, job growth, sensitivity to lower mortgage rates, domestic migration as a share of population, share of for‑sale homes with price cuts, listings‑to‑income alignment score (and its year‑over‑year change), mortgage‑payment‑to‑rent ratio, growth in single‑family building permits, and growth in mortgage originations.
The metros that made the list exhibit the strongest alignment between local economic momentum, demographic demand, and the price ranges that today’s buyers can realistically afford.
