A little-known city in Illinois has been named the surprising hottest housing market in the country.
Rockford, known for its charming streets and lush greenery, has leapt to the top of Realtor.com’s monthly list of America’s hottest markets.
This is the city’s first time claiming the top spot, beating out frequent winner Manchester, New Hampshire – which had dominated the list 31 times since 2017.
Located just an hour and a half from Chicago, Rockford had a median home list price of $242,000 as of December – well below the national average of $356,000, according to Zillow.
The city’s housing market is considered ‘hot’ because homes are selling quickly, with an average of just 43 days on the market compared to the national average of 70 days.
‘Rockford’s hotness means that high demand is met with low inventory as buyers claim available homes,’ Realtor.com senior economic analyst Hannah Jones said in the report, which covered December.
‘This affordable area has seen sustained demand this year as mortgage rates and home prices deter buyers from searching in higher-priced areas,’ she explained.
For the 15th month in a row, every market on Realtor’s hottest housing markets list came from the Northeast or Midwest. In December, the two regions evenly split the list, with each claiming 10 spots.
Rockford leapt to the top of Realtor.com’s Hottest Housing Market list at the end of last year
Rockford saw three times more people viewing homes for sale than the national average, according to Realtor.com.
The median list price in the city rose a stunning 21 percent in December compared to the same time a year earlier.
In contrast, national average home prices fell 1.8 percent in the same period.
The northern Illinois city also topped the Wall Street Journal’s ‘housing markets to watch list’ last year, which reveals the strongest housing markets which still have good potential for future growth.
The town is a draw for many families as it is equipped with multiple hospitals, as well as good employment prospects with several aerospace companies and manufacturing job employers.
However, the area’s unemployment rate is still almost double the national average, standing at 8.1 percent in November.
Every market on the Hottest Housing Markets list is currently in the Northeast and Midwest.
‘The Midwest and Northeast have reigned supreme as homes to most of the country’s hottest markets since mid-2022 when mortgage rates picked up steam,’ Jones explained.
Rockford is known for the lush greenery of its surrounding area in northern Illinois
Rockford, a one and a half hour drive from Chicago, had a median home list price of $242,000
Rockford is known for its charming streets and local community
Zillow also revealed that its top five hottest housing markets for 2025 are all in the Midwest and Northeast.
The listing site named Buffalo, New York as its hottest housing market of the year, followed by Indianapolis; Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; and Philadelphia.
Elevated mortgage rates have largely frozen the national housing market as those on cheaper mortgages have shelved plans to move.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.91 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.
The ‘Oracle of Wall Street’ Meredith Whitney previously told DailyMail.com that rates need to drop below 6 percent to kickstart the housing market.
