Where Was the Country’s Hottest Housing Market in January? Hint: It Was in New Hampshire

A January 2025 report from Realtor.com named one New Hampshire city as the country's hottest housing market.

Regular high demand and low inventory in January gave Manchester, New Hampshire, bragging rights for the country's hottest housing market. “The ongoing demand in the area has prevented inventory from recovering, keeping attention-pre-property high and market pace snappy,” said Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones.

As New Hampshire's largest city, Manchester topped other Granite State cities as well as markets in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island for the honor.

What makes real estate in Manchester so desirable?

According to Realtor.com, Manchester's distance to Boston (about 55 miles away), a strong school system, and a thriving local economy has kept Manchester a favorite among buyers. Manchester was also named the No. 1 housing market in October 2024, and Zillow named Manchester its top housing market pick in 2024. Homebuyers are particularly attracted to the Granite State for the absence of sales and income taxes.

The Realtor.com report noted that houses for sale in Manchester stayed available for an average of 46 days, well below the national median of 73 days. The median home sale price in Manchester in January was $579,000, up 4% from December 2024.

In addition to Manchester, Norwich, Connecticut, and Worcester, Massachusetts, tied for fourth place on the top 10 hottest markets list. Concord, New Hampshire, was named sixth, and Providence, Rhode Island, came in ninth.

Springfield, Massachusetts, which had been the hottest real estate market in November 2024, was named No. 13 in January. Boston, which did not appear on December's top 20 list, was named No. 15 in the January Realtor.com report.