Boston emerges as hottest large metro market entering 2026

Boston has emerged as HousingWire’s hottest major metropolitan housing market heading into 2026 — fueled by chronic supply shortages, rapid sales and a job base that continues to outpace national trends.

Local experts say the metro’s long-standing economic strength and global pull are driving competition even as interest rates and broader economic uncertainty persists.

Todd Denman, founder of the Boston-based eXp Realty affiliate The Denman Group, said Boston’s housing fundamentals remain unmatched.

“Boston continues to be a top five market economically across the country, from job stability, industry, education, biotech, tech, it just equates to lower unemployment and higher wages,” he said. “It really has a global attraction factor, and that’s not even factoring in the kind of European lifestyle of Boston, with all the history.”

He added that the city’s size and role as the region’s economic engine intensify pressures on inventory. “Our average days on market is closer to 40 days,” he said. “It remains a very, very hot seller’s market.”

New England dominates market rankings

Nationally, the hottest market of any size is Manchester-Nashua, N.H., operating with only 1.1 months of inventory.

The metro closes sales in 49 days with a $650,000 median price. Denman said he region’s intensity reflects a broader trend radiating outward from Boston.

“What makes the neighboring markets so attractive — like Hartford, Conn., Manchester, Quincy and so on — is the close proximity to the jobs and economy of Boston, with about a 40% discount in real estate values,” he said. “Also, post-COVID, we’re seeing a lot more hybrid work. So, the greater Boston market is really extending about an hour outside of Boston proper and into these neighboring cities like Springfield, Hartford, Manchester, Worcester.”

Denman also emphasized that Boston’s housing shortage is not a regular market occurrence.

“We’ve got some constraints going on here, given how old the city is,” he said. “There’s not much land, and zoning continues to be quite restrictive,” he said. “It’s those factors that create this. It’s not just a cyclical inventory issue, it’s actually a structural issue.

Those constraints, paired with steady demand from high-skilled workers and persistent in-migration, create ongoing upward pressure on prices, Denman added.

“The average home price in Boston is hovering between $875,000 and $900,000, and that that is another issue we’re trying to navigate,” he said.

West, Midwest, South show varied market heat

Outside New England, markets show different dynamics.

Chico, Calif., homes sit longer despite limited supply, while Duluth, Minn., and Saginaw, Mich., demonstrate that affordability can still coexist with high market heat.

Northern California markets show some different characteristics from its East Coast counterparts. While maintaining 1.4 months of inventory and a median price of $425,000, homes take longer to sell at 84 days — nearly double the time seen in the fastest Northeast markets.

Duluth’s cross-border metropolitan area has 1.5 months of inventory, 63-day median sales and a median price of $279,950. The city represents excellent affordability within the hot market category.

The market’s 598 active listings and 101 weekly absorptions indicate a substantial market maintaining competitive conditions despite its northern location and moderate pricing.

Buyer urgency remains strong

Among large metros, Boston was followed by Wilmington, N.C.; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont; Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue; and Baltimore-Towson.

Despite still-high interest rates, Denman noted that buyers remain highly motivated in his service area.

“We just saw the Fed announce another interest rate decrease, and we expect that to apply some downward pressure on mortgage interest rates, which is going to increase affordability,” he said. “Despite all the headwinds in the economy, the buyers are still out there.”