Houses don’t stay on market long in these hot ZIP codes Introduction:

Each year, Realtor.com's Hottest ZIP Codes report spotlights the U.S. ZIP codes where buyer interest is strongest and homes are flying off the market. This ranking highlights areas that continue to garner buyer interest, even as the nationwide trends point to slower home sales and softer price trends in many markets. In 2026, the list reveals just how durable regional trends remain, with well-located ZIPs in the Northeast and Midwest holding strong. Notably, the list includes ZIPs tied to some of the largest metros in the Midwest and Northeast — New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit — underscoring how much appeal big-city-adjacent living still holds for today's buyers.

This year's rankings come against a backdrop of elevated, but improving, borrowing costs, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate holding near 6.3% through the first half of 2026, down from 6.8% a year earlier. This slight improvement in affordability has done little to change the underlying dynamic in the nation's hottest markets, and the midyear forecast update suggests only marginal additional improvements are ahead. Buyers who can act are moving decisively, and the ones winning in today's tightest markets are financially prepared and able to compete.

The Realtor.com Hottest ZIP Code rankings take into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique viewers per property on Realtor.com, and 2) the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a typical listing is active on Realtor.com. The hottest areas are those that have high demand from buyers, in other words, lots of unique viewers per each property listed for sale, and fast-selling homes, an indicator of limited supply.

The country's 10 Hottest ZIP Codes fall within desirable suburban corridors, where buyers can take advantage of slower-paced suburban living without giving up access to an economic hub.

Hotness Map

You have to act fast to buy a home in hot ZIP codes, but these ten aren't the only ones. Find out how hot your area is with our Market Hotness map layer.

Key Takeaways:

• Peabody, MA (ZIP 01960) tops the list as the hottest ZIP code in the U.S. for 2026 — its third time on the list, following a previous run in the top 10 in 2018 and 2021.
• Buyers are prioritizing space and established character over affordability alone, paying a premium to live in larger, older homes within reach of a major job center rather than settling for less space closer in.
• Listings in the top ZIPs saw 3.0–5.3x more views per property and sold 30–42 days faster than the U.S. average.
• Inventory remains especially tight in these markets, running about 60.5% below pre-pandemic norms — more than five times the 11.3% shortfall seen nationally.
• Viewership patterns split by metro size: ZIPs within the largest metros (Boston, New York, Chicago) draw roughly three-quarters of their traffic from local buyers, while smaller-metro ZIPs pull a meaningful share of interest from nearby, pricier metros.
• The Northeast and Midwest continue to dominate the list, while the South and West remain absent for a fourth consecutive year.
• Buyers in these markets bring stronger financial profiles than the national norm, with higher average down payments (19.4% vs. 13.1%) and credit scores (766 vs. 747 median FICO) — even in ZIPs where local income alone doesn't obviously cover the cost of a home there.

The 2026 hottest ZIP codes in America, in rank order, are:

*Limited to one ZIP code per metropolitan area, Jan-June 2026 data

Regional Housing Market Divergence Persists

Listings in the top 10 ZIPs saw significantly more traffic than the typical listing nationwide. On average, homes received between 3.0 and 5.3 times the number of views per property compared to the U.S. norm in the first half of 2026. Homes also moved much faster, selling between 30 and 42 days quicker than the national norm. This combination of high traffic and rapid sales underscores the urgency and competitiveness that define these markets. Buyers in these areas are ready to act quickly and decisively, deviating from the more mellow national market.

National housing inventory recovered just 1.9% year-over-year in June 2026, and listings remained 11.3% below pre-pandemic levels. Stalling inventory recovery is more severe in the hottest ZIPs, with inventory averaging 60.5% below pre-pandemic levels. This persistent scarcity is fueling competition and compressing time on market. Buyers in these areas face fewer choices, encouraging faster decision-making and more aggressive bidding, particularly in areas that still offer perceived value.

For the fourth consecutive year, the South and West were absent from the list. Instead, the Northeast and Midwest dominated, reflecting continued demand in regions where supply is constrained. Massachusetts and New Jersey both contributed two ZIPs to this year's list, while the rest of the list was composed of ZIPs in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.

This concentration likely reflects a combination of factors: comparatively tighter new-construction pipelines in older Northeast and Midwest metros limit new supply, while significant new construction and softer price growth in the South and West over the past two years has kept those regions from producing the same combination of high demand and fast turnover this ranking rewards. It's a reminder that "hottest" here reflects relative tightness that generally requires urgency from buyers.

Pricey Suburbs Shine as New Hybrid/Remote Work Patterns Persist

All but one of the top ZIPs in 2026 are priced above their surrounding metro when examining the median, and four of the ten follow this pattern on a price per square foot basis, too, a sign that today's active buyers aren't just chasing affordability — they want it all: a nice home in the suburbs, the amenities to match, and easy access to an economic hub. This reflects a broader shift in the buyer pool, which skews higher-earning and more willing to trade savings for space, amenities, and accessibility. ZIPs like 07042 (Montclair, NJ) and 60187 (Wheaton, IL) exemplify this shift, drawing buyers looking for suburban tranquility without giving up job access or infrastructure.

Home size backs this up. In eight of the ten hottest ZIP codes, listings run notably larger than the typical home in their metro. In 07042 (Montclair, NJ), part of the New York City metro, homes for sale averaged 2,625 square feet in the first half of 2026 — 85.6% larger than the metro norm. In 17543, within the Lancaster, PA metro, listings ran 36.7% above their metro's typical size. Across all ten ZIPs, the median home for sale measured 2,000 square feet, compared to a metro median of 1,600 and a national median of 1,800.

These ZIPs also cluster in a similar commuting band: 10 to 20 miles from their metro's central business district. Peabody (01960) sits roughly 20 miles from Boston; Montclair (07042) is about 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan — or a half-hour train ride; Sewell (08080) is roughly 20 miles from Philadelphia. Rush-hour traffic stretches these commutes, but all fall within a range that supports a regular in-office schedule without becoming a daily grind.

The housing stock, too, skews older than the national norm. The median year built across the ten ZIPs ranges from 1939 to 1987, averaging 1970 — about a decade older than the all-ZIP average. That tracks with the broader pattern: areas with significant recent new construction also have more inventory, which eases price pressure and typically cools a ZIP's ranking rather than heating it up.

Taken together, the hottest ZIP codes of 2026 favor larger, older homes in established neighborhoods that still sit within easy reach of a major metro — proof that today's buyers will pay a premium for space and character, as long as the commute stays manageable.

Local Incomes Mostly Keep Pace — But Not Everywhere

Looking at median household income against what's actually required to afford the typical home in each ZIP, assuming a 20% down payment and a 6.55% rate, seven of the ten hottest ZIPs show income ahead of that threshold, in some cases by a wide margin. Livonia, MI (ZIP 48154) leads by far, with median income running 64% above what's needed. Sewell, NJ (ZIP 08080) and Fairport, NY (ZIP 14450) follow at 40% and 31% ahead, respectively, a sign that in these markets, the local income base has kept genuine pace with home values.

Three ZIPs break from that pattern: Montclair, NJ (ZIP 07042) shows income running 31% behind what's needed, the widest shortfall on the list, with Lititz, PA (ZIP 17543) (-18%) and Peabody, MA (ZIP 01960) (-17%) also trailing. However, median household income reflects the ZIP's existing residents, many of whom bought years or decades ago at lower prices and lower rates. It says less about whether today's buyers can actually afford what's currently for sale, and more about whether an area's broader income base has kept pace with its home values over time. A shortfall could just as easily mean prices have appreciated faster than incomes for established homeowners as it could mean current buyers are stretched thin.

That's where transaction-level data, what buyers are actually bringing to the table right now, becomes the more revealing test.

Today's Buyers Are Bringing More to the Table in the Hottest ZIPs

Across the ten hottest ZIP codes, buyers are bringing meaningfully stronger financial profiles to the table than the national norm. The average down payment across the list runs 17.1%, well above the national average of roughly 13.1%, and the average median FICO score sits at 766, compared with a national average near 747. Eight of the ten ZIPs on the list exceed the national norm FICO score, and nine exceed the typical down payment, a consistent signal that these are not marginal buyers stretching to qualify, but a well-capitalized, creditworthy pool competing for a limited supply of in-demand homes.

The strength is most pronounced at the top of the list. Montclair, NJ buyers averaged a 22.1% down payment with a median FICO of 783, and Lititz, PA buyers averaged 20.1% down with a median FICO of 779, the two strongest buyer profiles in the sample on both measures. These impressive down payments translate to dollar amounts of $319,000 in Montclair and $110,000 in Lititz, more than 10x and 4x the national dollar amount, respectively. Fairport, NY and Wheaton, IL also stand out, each posting down payments above 18% alongside FICO scores in the high 760s to low 770s. Even the ZIPs at the lower end of the range, namely Westfield, MA and Peabody, MA, still land near the national FICO average, with down payments in the 10–14% range. In terms of dollar amounts, even these ZIPs exceed the national norm of $25,300 with typical down payments of $31,000 in Westfield and $89,000 in Peabody.

The data points to a buyer pool that is disproportionately strong across the board, sufficiently so that even in ZIPs where local incomes appear stretched relative to home prices, the buyers closing deals are doing so from a position of financial strength.

Big-City ZIPs Attract Local Buyers and Regional Hubs Drive Demand

Digging into where home shoppers are searching from reveals some interesting patterns. ZIP codes located within the largest U.S. metros — New York, Boston, and Chicago — attract roughly three-quarters of their listing viewership from within their own metro. Peabody, MA (ZIP 01960) drew 70.0% of its viewership from the surrounding Boston metro, Montclair, NJ (ZIP 07042) pulled 74.6% from the New York metro, and Wheaton, IL (ZIP 60187) attracted 77.0% from the Chicago metro. Livonia, MI (ZIP 48154) follows a similar pattern at a somewhat lower share, with 55.1% of its viewership coming from within Detroit.

The concentration of viewership in these ZIPs speaks both to the sheer size of their surrounding metros and to their appeal among local buyers looking to relocate within the same market. With a large enough population of existing metro residents to draw from, these ZIPs don't need to pull interest from outside their region to sustain demand, buyers are largely already there, shopping for a different town rather than a different area altogether.

Many of the other hottest ZIPs pulled most of their viewership from two main sources instead of one dominant metro. Sewell, NJ (ZIP 08080) garnered 48.4% of its viewership from the surrounding Philadelphia area and another 26.8% from nearby New York City, together accounting for roughly three-quarters of all views. New Berlin, WI (ZIP 53151) followed a similar split, drawing 49.6% from the surrounding Milwaukee area and 24.5% from Chicago. Fairport, NY (ZIP 14450) and North Haven, CT (ZIP 06473) show the same pattern on a smaller scale: Fairport pulled 47.1% from Rochester and 14.6% from New York City, while North Haven drew 33.7% from New Haven and 23.3% from New York City. In each case, the "second" metro is a larger, pricier market nearby, suggesting these ZIPs function partly as release valves for buyers priced out of a bigger neighboring city, in addition to serving their own local base.

Westfield, MA (ZIP 01085) and Lititz, PA (ZIP 17543) saw more dispersed demand, though still concentrated among regional hubs. Westfield attracted viewership from the surrounding Springfield (34.6%), Boston (19.8%), and New York (10.7%) metros, while Lititz drew interest from Lancaster (26.7%), New York (15.9%), and Philadelphia (12.1%).

These ZIPs likely see more fragmented viewership both because of their smaller size and their geographic position relative to several larger metros at once, close enough to more than one major hub to draw interest from each, but not close enough to any single one to be dominated by it. Rather than functioning as a satellite of one specific city, Westfield and Lititz sit at the overlap of multiple regional housing markets, pulling modest but meaningful interest from each rather than being anchored to one primary feeder metro the way Sewell or New Berlin are.

Homes in the Hottest ZIPs Are Selling Over Asking — the Rest of the Country Isn't

One of the clearest signals separating this year's hottest ZIP codes from the broader market is what happens at the negotiating table. Nationally, the typical home sold for about 2.3% below its list price in the first half of 2026 — a sign of a market where sellers are, on average, still conceding ground to close a deal. In the ten hottest ZIP codes, the opposite held true: nine of the ten sold at or above asking, with an average sale-to-list ratio of roughly 103.8%, meaning the typical home in these markets fetched nearly 4% more than its listed price.

The spread within that group is wide enough to tell its own story. Montclair, NJ and Fairport, NY stand out sharply, with homes selling for 16.7% and 14.4% over asking, respectively — evidence of genuinely competitive, multiple-offer conditions rather than a modest seller's-market tilt. Most of the remaining ZIPs cleared asking by a smaller but still meaningful margin, in the 0.4% to 2.7% range. Wheaton, IL is the lone exception, with homes selling just fractionally below list (99.7%) — though even that is far closer to breakeven than the national norm, and still outperforms the broader Chicago market. Notably, each of the hottest ZIP codes outperform their surrounding metro area, and each of the metro areas outperform the U.S. as their balanced-to-seller's market placement on the Realtor.com Market Clock means that competition is still fairly fierce, resulting in higher sale-to-list price ratios.

Spotlight on Peabody, MA

In 2026, Peabody, Massachusetts (ZIP 01960) emerged as the nation's hottest ZIP code, capturing the top spot after also ranking in the top 10 in 2018 and 2021. Located within the Boston metro area, just 20 miles north of downtown, Peabody offers buyers a relatively affordable, well-established community to put down roots. Though its median listing price reached $667,000 in June, more than $230,000 above the national norm, it remained nearly 20% below the Boston metro average.

Buyers are drawn to Peabody by its highway access to Boston, its North Shore setting, and its blend of small-town character with proximity to a major job center. Homes in Peabody spent a median of just 20 days on the market in the first half of the year and sold for a bit over asking price, a modest premium but significant against the backdrop of a market where the typical U.S. home sold for about 2.3% under list. Its mix of livability, relative value, and easy commuting distance helped make it one of the year's hottest ZIP codes.

That demand is largely homegrown: 70.0% of Peabody's listing views in 2026 came from within the Boston metro itself, making it one of the more locally-driven markets on the list. Rather than pulling in outside relocators, Peabody's popularity appears to reflect existing Boston-area residents shopping for a different town within reach of the same job market, a vote of confidence from people who already know the region well. Buyer financials tell a more ordinary story than some of the other hottest ZIPs, too: the median household income of $101,454 runs modestly behind what's needed to comfortably afford the typical home there, yet buyers are still closing deals with a down payment (14.0%) and credit profile (747 median FICO) close to the national norm, suggesting the math works for most buyers here without requiring the outsized financial cushion seen in some of the year's other breakout markets. Though the down payment as a share of price is close to the national norm, it is worth noting that so far this year, the typical buyer in Peabody has put down nearly $90,000, confirming that even in this less flashy market, buyers are well-prepared and more likely to be utilizing existing equity, rather than first-time buyers.

Fresh Entries and Familiar Faces

Three of this year's hottest ZIP codes and seven of the associated metro areas have appeared on the list before, underscoring how concentrated demand has remained in the same pockets of the country over the past several years. That said, none of this year's ZIPs repeated from last year's list specifically, the overlap comes from years further back, with two of the three ZIP repeats dating all the way to 2017 and 2018. Most notably, this year's #1 ZIP, Peabody, MA (01960), also ranked in the top 10 in 2021 and 2018.

Three ZIPs, however, are appearing for the first time in every sense — neither the ZIP nor its metro area has ever made the list before. Lititz, PA (17543) in the Lancaster area, North Haven, CT (06473) in the New Haven metro, and New Berlin, WI (53151) in the Milwaukee market are all first-time entries, a sign that demand is continuing to spread into smaller markets within the same Northeast and Midwest corridors that have dominated the rankings in recent years.

Last Time on the List

A Glimpse into What Today's Buyers Want

The 2026 Hottest ZIP Codes reveal a housing market shaped by strategic shoppers, those who are financially ready, ready to compete, and focused on long-term value. These buyers are moving fast, thinking big, and choosing communities that offer the right blend of value, access, and quality of life. As mortgage rates remain high and inventory levels gradually recover, expect these kinds of high-performing, value-driven suburban areas to remain at the forefront of market activity.

Top 50 Hottest ZIP Codes

Methodology Notes:

Realtor.com's Hottest ZIP Code rankings are based on an algorithm that takes into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique viewers per property on Realtor.com, and 2) the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains active on Realtor.com. The hottest areas are those that have high demand from buyers, in other words, lots of unique viewers per each property, and fast-selling homes, an indicator of limited supply. Market Hotness rankings based on Realtor.com listing data from January to June 2026. The list of top ZIP codes is limited to one ZIP code per metropolitan area. Descriptive statistics in this write-up refer to June 2026 data unless otherwise noted.