With mortgage rates trending downward and housing inventory on the rise, buying a home may get easier in 2025. According to a study by realtor.com, Miami/Fort Lauderdale and Orlando/Kissimmee are among the top 10 markets for growth, ranking second and sixth respectively. Colorado Springs tops the list.
Realtor.com says those markets made the top 10 list because they are expected to be the leaders in home sales and price growth in 2025 across the 100 largest U.S. markets.
“The markets we’re forecasting to lead the country in home sales in 2025 are those that have better recovered to their pre-COVID-19 levels of home sales, and we expect them to hold that momentum in the year ahead,” realtor.com notes.
One common theme found in the top 10 markets is residents’ international connection. On average, 17.6% of residents in the top markets are foreign-born, ranging from a low of 6.8% in Colorado Springs to a high of 42.7% in Miami.
Also, younger households are much more common in the top 10 markets. All except Miami have an above-average share of households under age 35.
To meet demand — and in response to a lack of affordable housing options — homebuilders are scaling down. In 2022, the median new build was 2,128 square feet; by 2024, that number had dropped to 1,965 square feet.
The other Florida markets that made the top 100 list are Jacksonville (16), Cape Coral/Fort Myers (17), Lakeland/Winter Haven (21), Tampa/St. Pete (22), Deltona-Daytona Beach (33), North Port/Sarasota/Bradenton (64) and Palm Bay/Melbourne/Titusville (75).