Shift in popular real estate markets from Sunbelt metros towards Northeast and Rust Belt regions
Coldest Housing Markets in 2025: A Shift in the Sun Belt and Beyond
The housing market landscape has undergone a significant shift, with some regions experiencing cooling conditions, according to Bankrate's 2025 Housing Heat Index. The coldest overall markets this year are mostly smaller metros in Florida and Louisiana, while among large metropolitan areas, cooling appears across a mix of southern and western cities.
The five coldest overall markets in 2025 are: 1. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 2. Punta Gorda, FL 3. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 4. Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 5. Naples-Marco Island, FL
These markets rank lowest overall due to poor year-over-year home appreciation, high median days on market, and weak job growth among other factors. Four of these coldest markets were priced lower than the national median ($441,000 as of May, per Redfin).
In the large metro category, the coldest five in 2025 are: - New Orleans-Metairie, LA - Memphis, TN-MS-AR - San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA - Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO - Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
These large metros show slow home appreciation, longer days on market, and sluggish job or population growth, reflecting substantial cooling in their housing markets. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL dropped from the top five in 2023 to the bottom five this year, coming in 46th place for year-over-year home appreciation.
On the other hand, the Sun Belt, which was once a hotbed for housing markets, is now cooling off. The only Sun Belt metro to land in the index's overall top 5 was Charleston-North Charleston, SC, due to its strong job market, continued home appreciation, and growing population.
Meanwhile, the North and Rust Belt dominated the top of Bankrate's Housing Heat Index this year, with 11 of the 20 hottest housing markets located in those regions. The five hottest housing markets in 2025 are located in the North or along the Rust Belt: New Haven, CT, Rockford, IL, Norwich-New London, CT, Charleston-North Charleston, SC, and York-Hanover, PA.
The cooling conditions in the Sun Belt markets are a good thing for prospective homeowners, according to housing experts, as it means those regions are building more to combat housing affordability fatigue. Many potential buyers are waiting on the sidelines for either home prices or rates to drop, leaving homes for sale to sit idle on the market.
In formerly hot markets such as Texas and Florida, job growth migration remains strong, and any slump in home prices is likely to reverse in the longer term. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ranks second to last in home appreciation and job growth, but inventory is still tight.
Columbus, OH is the 15th hottest large housing market, with high rankings in home appreciation, job growth, active listings, days on market, and population growth. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT is the hottest large housing market, ranking first for home price appreciation.
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA is a top-five finisher in home appreciation among large housing markets. Homes are selling quickly and housing inventory is slim in comparison to their populations in the hottest markets.
Overall buyer demand has diminished across the country because of elevated home prices and 6-7 percent mortgage rates. Cooling conditions are a positive sign for those seeking more affordable housing options, particularly in the Sun Belt markets.
Finance experts suggest that prospective homeowners in the Sun Belt markets, such as Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Shreveport-Bossier City, and Naples-Marco Island, may find more affordable housing opportunities due to the cooling conditions. Additionally, in terms of education and self-development, keeping an eye on market trends in these regions could provide valuable insights on lifestyle-related financial decisions.
Moreover, sports enthusiasts might be interested to know that the cooling conditions in the Sun Belt might impact local real estate markets, possibly offering more opportunities for sports-related property investments in these areas. Keeping track of weather forecasts in these regions as well, could provide additional insights for potential sports-related property investments in the future.
