Rockford tops U.S. housing market rankings for first time

Rockford, Illinois, has emerged as the top housing market in the United States for the first time, according to Realtor.com's latest rankings. This development has surprised many, as Rockford edged out Manchester, New Hampshire, which had dominated the list 31 times since 2017.

In December, Rockford's median home price was $242,000, with properties typically spending just 43 days on the market. "Rockford’s hotness means that high demand is met with low inventory as buyers claim available homes," said Hannah Jones, a senior economic analyst at Realtor.com. The city attracted nearly three times more viewers on Realtor.com than the national average.

Located about 90 miles from both Chicago and Milwaukee, Rockford offers a range of employment opportunities in hospital systems, aerospace companies, and manufacturing sectors. Despite its success in the housing market, Rockford's unemployment rate was 8.1% in November—almost double the national average.

For over a year now, markets from the Northeast and Midwest have consistently appeared on Realtor.com's Hottest Housing Markets list. In December alone, these regions split the list evenly with ten spots each. "The Midwest and Northeast have reigned supreme as homes to most of the country’s hottest markets since mid-2022 when mortgage rates picked up steam," Jones noted.

Several new cities joined December's top 20 list: Norwich (Connecticut), Topeka (Kansas), Dayton (Ohio), Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), and Peoria (Illinois). However, five Southern cities fell off the list: Erie (Pennsylvania), New Haven (Connecticut), Cleveland (Ohio), Allentown (Pennsylvania), and Lafayette (Indiana).

Nationally, home prices decreased by 1.8% in December compared to last year. Yet in these hottest markets, prices grew by an average of 2.7%. Notably, Rockford saw a significant increase of 21% in its median list price over one year—the highest among listed cities—followed by Harrisburg at 9% and Milwaukee at 7%.

Some Southern cities experienced notable declines in their hotness rankings over the past year. Nashville dropped by 97 spots on this year's list compared to last year while Rocky Mount and Orlando each fell by 92 spots.