Home Buying

Top housing markets for 2024? Two Mass. metros make the list.

Realtor.com ranked 100 regions based on sales- and price- growth rates.

By Caroline Bunnell

December 6, 2023

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 6

Worcester and Springfield landed on Realtor.com’s Top Housing Markets for 2024. 

The rental marketplace evaluated metros across the United States based on their expected sale- and price-growth rates. The real estate site used data on the housing market and economy to predict the values for the 100 largest metro areas in 2024. Sales growth was the top barometer.

Are these communities poised for an influx of home buyers? All eyes are on the MBTA as it considers expanding the commuter rail westward.

Here are the top 10:

1. Toledo, Ohio
2. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.
3. Rochester, N.Y.
4. San Diego-Chula Vista- Carlsbad, Calif.
5. Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario, Calif.
6. Bakersfield, Calif.
7. Springfield
8. Worcester-Conn.
9. Grand Rapids-Kentwood, Mich.
10. ▫Los Angeles-Long Beach- Anaheim, Calif.

Springfield provides affordability

Springfield, which landed at No. 7, is expected to double in sales growth after a significant decline in 2023, according to the report. 

Metro Springfield provides affordable housing options and access to health care facilities, high quality education, and job opportunities, according to the report, which said employment in education and health care makes up more than 25% of area jobs. Unemployment is also projected to be 4.1%, below the national average. 

Given the high cost of renting in Boston, Springfield offers more affordable options: The median list price is 13.3% below the national median and 56% lower than Boston’s, Realtor.com said.

Erica Nunley, managing partner at Nunley Group Realty in Wilbraham, said the metro is attracting people. 

“It really goes back to affordability, because we get a lot of people from Boston, Worcester, and New York. People are chasing affordable housing,” Nunley said. 

Nunley said prices are expected to hit a plateau after reaching record highs during the COVID pandemic. With rental prices continuing to increase, more people are looking to buy a home, Nunley said. 

Worcester attracts Boston buyers

Affordable housing also put Worcester on the map, at the No. 8 spot. The metro area (Worcester-Conn.) offers convenient access to high quality education with eight colleges and universities, as well as recreational activities, including the addition of Polar Park, home to the Worcester Red Sox. 

The median home prices are above the national average by 14.7% here, but much lower than in Boston, which is 41.8% higher than the U.S. average. 

The area currently has a 3.9% unemployment rate, which is 0.3% lower than the national average, according to Realtor.com.

Kimberly Walters-Adegoke, a Worcester area real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty, said improvements made to the city are contributing to the flourishing housing market. 

“It makes for a great place to live because all of the repairs that you can actively see and that the mayor has cut down on crime in the area,” Walters-Adegoke said. “There are a lot of new developments, so it just makes for a much better place to live now than ever before.”

While these new developments are great for the market, the gentrification has also made it difficult for low-income families to stay in the area, Olivia Okpalafulaku, a Worcester-area real estate agent at Coldwell Banker, said.

“Everyone has to be making over $4,000 a month in order for them to survive right now,” Okpalafulaku said. “It’s a double-edged sword.”

Other New England metros on the list include:

• 11. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, Conn.
• 24. Providence-Warwick, R.I-Mass.
• 25. New Haven-Milford, Conn.
• 27. Portland-South Portland, Maine.
• 28. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
• 57. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH