Manchester and Nashua ranked 10th in U.S. for emerging housing markets

A new real estate report ranks two New Hampshire cities among the nation’s most coveted places to buy a house. 

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com released their annual Spring 2023 Emerging Housing Markets Index Report, which named the top 20 hottest U.S. real estate markets this year. The Manchester-Nashua area grabbed the 10th spot on the list, with much interest coming from out-of-state home buyers. 

According to a WMUR report on the data, the two southeastern New Hampshire cities are experiencing a highly competitive sellers’ market, with very little inventory and extreme demand.

Keller Williams realtor Greg Powers told the news outlet he recently sold a condo in Merrimack, and the sellers received 19 offers. But when the same sellers went to another open house looking to buy in nearby Raymond, they were up against 28 other offers.

“There’s just very little inventory right now. And a lot of demand. It’s painful,” Powers said in the report.

Another Keller Williams relator, Tommy Bolduc, told WMUR that the agency likes to see about 10,000 homes for sale to meet New Hampshire’s buyer demand. However, at the moment, they only have about 1,000 homes on the market.

Manchester-Nashua is one of the higher-priced emerging housing markets on the list, with a median home price of $550,000. That figure is noticeably lower than the median-priced U.S. home for sale, which was $424,000 in March, according to Realtor.com.

The report evaluated the 300 most populous core-based statistical areas, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ranking considers a market’s real estate supply and demand, as well as its median listing price trends. It also considers the area’s economic and quality of life indicators, such as unemployment, wages, amenities, commute times, and local taxes.

Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana, snagged the number one spot this year, followed by Bloomington, Illinois and Ekhart-Goshen, Indiana. 

Top 20 emerging housing markets for spring 2023:

1. Lafayette-West Lafayette, Ind.
2. Bloomington, Ill.
3. Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.
4. Lebanon, Penn.
5. Fort Wayne, Ind.
6. Topeka, Kan.
7. Sioux City, Iowa-Neb.-S.D.
8. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
9. Springfield, Ill.
10. Manchester-Nashua, N.H.
11. Janesville-Beloit, Wisc.
12. Columbus, Ohio
13. La Crosse-Onalaska, Wisc.-Minn.
14. Johnson City, Tenn.
15. Springfield, Ohio
16. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C.
17. Burlington, N.C.
18. Columbia, Mo.
19. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Ind.
20. Knoxville, Tenn.

Morgan Rousseau

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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