3 CT Metro Areas Named 'Top Housing Markets For 2024'

ACROSS CONNECTICUT — Three Connecticut metro areas were named among the top 30 housing markets for 2024, according to a recent Realtor.com report.

Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown led the way in the state at No. 11. Its real estate market is expected to grow in home sales by 3.1 percent in the upcoming year with prices increasing 9.1 percent.

New Haven-Milford is No. 25 on the list with anticipated sales growth of 3.5 percent and price increases of 3.5 percent. At No. 28 is Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, where sales numbers will dip slightly by 1.3 percent but prices are forecast to increase by 7.2 percent.

As in much of the rest of the country, when compared to pre-pandemic levels, home sales numbers remain sluggish and prices are high. In the Hartford metro area, for example, sales are down 13.5 percent compared to the 2017 to 2019 average. Prices are up 59.5 percent compared to the 2017-2019 average.

The Realtor.com report ranked the top 100 metro areas by their expected sale and price growth rates for the upcoming year.

At the national level, it's expected that housing affordability will begin to turn around as mortgage rates ease and housing prices dip.

"Although nationwide, home sales are expected to edge just slightly higher, some markets across the country are projected to fare differently," according to Realtor.com.

The list is mainly comprised of metropolitan area housing markets in the Midwest and Northeast that offer affordability compared to a very expensive national housing market along with Western metros that "took a big hit in 2023 and are expected to bounce back as interest rates fall over the year."

The No. 1 real estate market for 2023 is Toledo, OH, which is forecast for 14 percent growth. It is one of only eight metro areas predicted for double-digit growth in 2024, with most of the rest in expensive markets in the West.

Here's the full top 10:

1. Toledo, OH
2. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
3. Rochester, NY
4. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
5. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
6. Bakersfield, CA
7. Springfield, MA
8. Worcester, MA-CT
9. Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI
10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

See the full "Top Housing Markets for 2024" list at Realtor.com.