This Location Tops the List for Best Housing Market of 2023

With the new year less than a month away, many of us are looking ahead to new beginnings. And when it comes to starting fresh, there's not a more significant new beginning than the promise of buying a new home. Starting off 2023 buying a house sounds great in theory, but how attainable is it given the current state of the real estate market?

The data analysts over at Realtor.com have crunched the numbers to figure that out for us, putting together a forecast of the top housing markets of 2023. Though interest rates are steadily climbing and outsized price tags have become the norm ever since the pandemic, Realtor.com provides some hope for potential homebuyers. Its list of 100 markets offer relative affordability in 2023, having experienced less of a price surge than other extremely hot, pandemic-era markets.

"As many households keep a close watch on their spending, we expect these top housing markets to be in relatively high demand," says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale in a press release. "Many of these areas flew under the radar in the pandemic frenzy, and are now well-positioned to bubble up with solid job prospects without the big-city price tag."

Emblematic of the pandemic-induced shifts to remote job structures as well as tech industry-influenced home buying, the top markets of 2023 have a renewed focus on domestic industry and trade. The top 10 of Realtor.com's list of 100 markets mostly consists of mid-size markets east of the Mississippi, with local industries tied to manufacturing, education, healthcare, and government.

1. Hartford-West Hartford, CT
2. El Paso, TX
3. Louisville, KY
4. Worcester, MA
5. Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
6. Augusta-Richmond County, GA
7. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
8. Columbia, SC
9. Chattanooga, TN
10. Toledo, OH

Buying a home may be more attainable that you think, and you definitely can't go wrong with any spot on this list.