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Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Construction Coverage.After a few turbulent years of price surges, rapid cooldowns, and fluctuating mortgage rates, the U.S. housing market in 2026 has a new set of dynamics.
Despite home prices remaining elevated in many regions, demand has rebounded in key markets, driven by factors such as improving wage growth, increased housing inventory, and some moderation in mortgage rates from their peak levels.
In 2026, certain metro areas are emerging as particularly hot markets due to strong job growth, demographic shifts, and continued demand for housing.
To determine the hottest housing markets in the U.S., researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed data from Redfin. For more details, see the methodology at the end.
Here are the major cities with the hottest real estate markets in America.
20. Detroit, MI
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Composite score: 49.8
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $93,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +8.4%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 24.5%
Median number of days on the market: 50.1
Average sale-to-list percentage: 95.2%
Share of listings with price drops: 23.5%
19. Bakersfield, CA
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Composite score: 52.0
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $400,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +1.6%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 29.7%
Median number of days on the market: 38.8
Average sale-to-list percentage: 98.9%
Share of listings with price drops: 26.6%
18. Sacramento, CA
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Composite score: 52.1
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $465,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): -1.0%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 39.1%
Median number of days on the market: 25.7
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.5%
Share of listings with price drops: 32.0%
17. Cleveland, OH
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Composite score: 57.5
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $125,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +7.3%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 31.0%
Median number of days on the market: 35.3
Average sale-to-list percentage: 97.0%
Share of listings with price drops: 25.0%
16. Long Beach, CA
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Composite score: 59.5
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $914,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +1.5%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 38.4%
Median number of days on the market: 49.4
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.5%
Share of listings with price drops: 21.4%
15. Fresno, CA
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Composite score: 59.7
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $400,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +2.9%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 35.2%
Median number of days on the market: 37.5
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.2%
Share of listings with price drops: 25.9%
14. Portland, OR
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Composite score: 60.1
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $455,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +2.9%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 35.7%
Median number of days on the market: 27.1
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.9%
Share of listings with price drops: 32.7%
13. Los Angeles, CA
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Composite score: 60.3
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $975,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +3.9%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 34.9%
Median number of days on the market: 57.7
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.3%
Share of listings with price drops: 19.0%
12. Wichita, KS
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Composite score: 62.1
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $208,500
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +6.2%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 25.4%
Median number of days on the market: 23.6
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.0%
Share of listings with price drops: 28.4%
11. Boston, MA
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Composite score: 65.1
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $825,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +3.8%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 29.8%
Median number of days on the market: 30.5
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.1%
Share of listings with price drops: 21.9%
10. Seattle, WA
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Composite score: 65.3
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $790,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +1.9%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 25.9%
Median number of days on the market: 18.1
Average sale-to-list percentage: 100.3%
Share of listings with price drops: 26.6%
9. Baltimore, MD
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Composite score: 65.8
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $216,500
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +7.6%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 32.0%
Median number of days on the market: 46.1
Average sale-to-list percentage: 101.1%
Share of listings with price drops: 27.6%
8. Omaha, NE
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Composite score: 68.4
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $260,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +3.5%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 42.7%
Median number of days on the market: 19.6
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.7%
Share of listings with price drops: 29.7%
7. Chicago, IL
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Composite score: 68.6
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $355,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +5.8%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 38.9%
Median number of days on the market: 56.7
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.6%
Share of listings with price drops: 15.0%
6. Oakland, CA
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Composite score: 69.6
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $665,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): -4.9%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 59.4%
Median number of days on the market: 27.6
Average sale-to-list percentage: 106.5%
Share of listings with price drops: 23.3%
5. Milwaukee, WI
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Composite score: 71.3
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $229,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +8.9%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 42.5%
Median number of days on the market: 43.5
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.4%
Share of listings with price drops: 22.5%
4. Virginia Beach, VA
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Composite score: 72.2
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $399,990
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +3.4%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 36.2%
Median number of days on the market: 26.8
Average sale-to-list percentage: 99.8%
Share of listings with price drops: 21.7%
3. Minneapolis, MN
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Composite score: 73.5
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $315,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +4.9%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 41.1%
Median number of days on the market: 26.5
Average sale-to-list percentage: 100.4%
Share of listings with price drops: 27.1%
2. San Jose, CA
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Composite score: 77.3
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $1,255,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +1.8%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 57.0%
Median number of days on the market: 17.6
Average sale-to-list percentage: 103.0%
Share of listings with price drops: 27.0%
1. San Francisco, CA
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Composite score: 83.0
Median sale price (Jan 2026): $1,300,000
1-year change in median sale price (2024-2025): +1.5%
Share of homes that sold above asking: 54.4%
Median number of days on the market: 25.5
Average sale-to-list percentage: 106.6%
Share of listings with price drops: 16.2%
Methodology
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The data used in this analysis is from Redfin’s Data Center. To determine the locations with the hottest real estate markets in 2026, researchers at Construction Coverage created a composite score, equally weighting the following metrics:
One-year change in median sale price (2024–2025)
Share of homes that sold above asking (2025)
Median number of days on the market (2025)
Average sale-to-list percentage (2025)
Share of listings with price drops (2025)
In the event of a tie, the location with the greater one-year change in median sale price was ranked higher. Researchers also reported the median home sale price from January 2026. Cities were grouped into cohorts based on population size, with large defined as 350,000 or more.
Note, locations with insufficient data were excluded for quality purposes.