America’s hottest real estate market may be best known for sharing a name with a popular children’s clothing line — but it’s the city’s budget housing prices and peaceful setting that are sending buyers into a frenzy.
Oshkosh, WI, has just been ranked as the most desirable market in the US for the first time in the data’s history, according to Realtor.com® Hottest Housing Markets for July.
The area — which is home to clothing line OshKosh B’Gosh, a major employer — has homes with a median price of $374,000, which is $65,950 less than the national average.
Those budget prices combined with the laid-back environment helped propel this Wisconsin city to the top of July’s rankings, according to Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.
“Situated on Lake Winnebago, Oshkosh offers buyers affordability in an idyllic setting,” she says.
Realtor.com listings in Oshkosh received 3.7 times more property views in July than the national average. With all those eyes, properties sit on the market for just 18 days before being snapped up by eager buyers – 32 days less than the average nationwide.
Real estate agents around Oshkosh agree that homes for sale here don’t last long.
“We’re still getting multiple offers in Oshkosh and even seeing some bidding wars,” says local real estate agent Kate Schlagel-Grier, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
Real estate agent Chris Siamhof, also with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, agrees that there is stiff competition in Oshkosh, and her clients have to get creative to get their offers noticed.
“Clients are forgoing home inspections, providing appraisal gap coverage, letting landlords rent, or even paying the owner’s property taxes for a year—anything they can do to make their offerings stand out,” says Siamhof. “And we’re still seeing some homes going for up to $30,000 over asking.”
Many of these homebuyers come from nearby larger cities like Milwaukee and are looking for cheaper places to settle, Schlagel-Grier says.
“Oshkosh is a very nice city with a much lower cost of living than Milwaukee or the Upper Valley,” she says. “It attracts a lot of people to the area.”
The growth of robust real estate markets in the Midwest
Oshkosh may be at the top of the pack, but it’s just one of many Midwest markets that are on fire.
“Oshkosh has climbed the hottest market rankings over the past two years along with many other Midwest metros,” says Jones.
As mortgage rates began to rise in 2022 — and home prices remained stubbornly high in much of the country — buyer attention waned in the Midwest, according to Jones.
“As a result, many Midwest markets, like Oshkosh, have seen inventory levels fail to keep up with the growing popularity,” she explains.
Although listing levels improved 24.2% year over year in Oshkosh in July, there were 72.8% fewer homes for sale this July than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The gap between inventory and buyer demand sends Oshkosh to the top of the list this month,” says Jones.
Why the Midwest and Northeast markets are hot
The Northeast and Midwest are the only two regions in the US to make the list of July’s 20 hottest markets, with 10 meters each. This is the tenth month in a row that these two regions have monopolized the top 20 places.
Following Oshkosh was Hartford, CT, at no. 2. Its listings received 4.3 times more views than the national average in July, and the average home here costs $444,000. It attracts many because of its proximity to New York City, which is about 90 minutes away.
Manchester, NH, ranked no. 3. The state’s largest city has a median home price of $585,000. It’s only an hour outside of Boston and has no state income tax. In July, homes here spent an average of just 20 days on the market.
Rounding out the top five on the list was Rockford, IL, with a median home price of $216,000, and Akron, OH, with a median home price of $257,000.
States with the hottest markets
Three states had three cities each in the 20 hottest markets: Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio.
In addition to Oshkosh, the other two places in Wisconsin that made the top 20 are Janesville (No. 9) and Green Bay (No. 18). With the lowest median price of $335,000 in the Janesville area, Wisconsin is affordable, family-friendly, and a prime location for outdoor recreation.
The trio of Ohio cities that made the top 20 are Akron (No. 5), Canton (No. 11) and Cleveland (No. 20). All three had median home prices in the $200,000s, and Ohio is known for its low cost of living.
Illinois cities that made the top 20 are Rockford (No. 4), Springfield (No. 12) and Peoria (No. 16). Peoria is also the city with the lowest median home price in the top 20, at $179,000. This subway is midway between Chicago and St. Louis, which are each three hours away.
Why home prices in hot markets are rising
Recently, home prices have been largely flat in this sluggish market due to stubbornly high interest rates. but hot markets have still seen prices rise.
In July, home prices across most of the U.S. remained steady compared to last year, at a national average of $439,950. However, home prices in America’s 20 hottest markets were still on the rise, rising 11% year over year.
Homes in July’s hottest markets also received 2.8 times more viewings per property than the national average. This is largely due to these areas’ high demand and low housing stock, which “drive property viewings higher, increasing competition for homes in the hottest markets and leading to faster home sales.” ,” notes Jones in her analysis.
Homes in America’s 20 hottest markets spent an average of just 26 days on the market, which was roughly half the national average of 50 days.
Urban markets are heating up
Larger urban housing markets also heated up this month as more homebuyers sought homes near business centers as they ditched Zoom and returned to the office.
The five largest markets that saw the biggest jump in rankings were Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Kansas City, MO, Minneapolis and Chicago.
Las Vegas saw the biggest jump in its heat ranking among major US metros, up 73 spots from last year.
Surprisingly, prices fell an average of 1.1% in these major urban markets, which was the first annual average major market decline in data history.
“This suggests that major markets are beginning to adjust to low buyer demand by lowering home prices and selling homes at lower prices,” Jones explains.
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