“That period sparked a lot of sales that took everything away, and to be honest, it hasn’t really slowed down since. Even in today’s market, we’re still dealing with very low inventory and constant high bid conditions. There just aren’t enough homes to meet the demand, and that pressure continues to push prices higher.
The next highest growth market was Dubuque, Iowa, at 40.3% – which saw median prices jump from $249,450 to $349,900 over the course of the year.
Altoona, Pennsylvania, also ranks among the 20 fastest growing metros nationwide. Real estate experts say the gains point to a continued migration to lower-cost markets where buyers can still find entry-level homes, as home prices remain high.
Pittsburgh stands out among major markets as the metro posted a 4.35% price increase through 2025, ranking it No. 4 nationally among major metros.
Colvin said the amount of money purchased at his service center today continues to decrease from what was seen before COVID-19.
“Before COVID, we made about 3%, and last year that number increased to 32% of everything we do is money,” he said. “The reason is that people are moving here from big metropolitan areas like New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia because of the low cost of western Pennsylvania.
“They can sell their homes there, come here and buy with cash.
Other small and medium-sized metros that perform well include Springfield, Illinois; Abilene, Texas; and Danville, Virginia.
Most of these markets started the year with median prices below $300,000 – increasing percentage gains as demand increased.
Major markets are struggling to gain momentum
Across the 50 largest metros by inventory, prices will decrease by an average of 0.14% by 2025, HousingWire Data found.
The largest markets have experienced declines in prices rather than gains, highlighting the widening gap between small and large housing markets.
Among the strong performers in the major market were North Port-Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida, which rose 8.27%, and Seattle-Tacoma–Bellevue, Washington, which posted growth of 6.17%.
“While most of the country spends 2025 looking for the bottom, Seattle has got the first place,” said Jeff Reynolds, a Seattle-based realtor. The compass. “We’re seeing a double-edged recovery. While the national media struggles to keep up with inflation, Seattle’s median home price, now stable at around $915,000, reflects a market that has moved past the high-price shock.
“We’re not seeing double-digit spikes in the pandemic, but Seattle’s land shortage and high wage collection mean we’re doing better than the national average. We’re doing more than double the US.”
Charlotte, North Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio, also finished the year high.
In contrast, several high-profile metros have seen significant declines.
Austin recorded a 6.2% decline in prices. The Florida markets of Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Miami, as well as Portland, Oregon, and Memphis, Tennessee, also ended the year on a negative note.
Reynolds said the continued influx of tech jobs in Seattle — particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) — has helped offset the market’s negative effects.
“In Seattle, we’re forecasting a healthy, steady growth rate of 2% to 4% this year,” he said. “This is not speculative growth. It is supported by the wealth impact of AI. We are seeing a new wave of highly profitable tech talent from the AI sector entering the market. Unlike in 2021, they come with significant stock-driven payouts. Seattle is still a fortress besieged by supply.
“Even with the new density laws, we’re not building fast enough to keep up with the workforce. This is putting a constant pressure on housing standards here that you don’t see in the Sun Belt.”
Accessibility, market segmentation
HousingWire data shows that smaller metros will continue to outperform larger ones in 2025.
Markets with limited inventory – usually less than 500 active – saw sharp price increases, suggesting that supply constraints played a significant role.
“What I would like to see is new construction,” said Colvin. “That’s another area we don’t have for sale, we have a development where people buy plots, then go directly to builders to build their houses, that has seen growth, but we don’t have builders building new houses that we can sell now.
“A lot of our property here is old, and we have a lot of people buying these properties. They fix them all up, modernize them and then resell them.”
Lower initial price points also matter in 2025. The average home price among the top 20 fastest-growing metros was about $300,000, well below prices in major coastal and Sun Belt markets.
This affordability advantage seems to have drawn buyers to the big cities.
“The consensus for 2026 and beyond has shifted from expecting a decline to managing a plateau,” Reynolds said of the country’s market expectations for 2026. “We expect the 30-year fixed (rate) to move from that corridor of 5.8% to 6.3% in the foreseeable future. ‘Great Housing by the realized’ The Federal Reserve found its neutrality level.
“For consumers, the 6% psychological barrier has finally been breached. They’ve moved from asking if they should buy to asking how to buy, using tools like recurring purchases and adjustable-price products to close the gap.”
As HousingWire Data shows, the housing market in 2025 was less about national averages and more about local fundamentals — with buyers increasingly looking beyond traditional growth areas in search of a place to call home.
