Because the housing market strikes into 2026, competitors stays intense in lots of elements of the nation — particularly in smaller metros the place stock is critically low.
New findings from HW Knowledge primarily based on provide, pricing and purchaser exercise present that demand for single-family homes continues to far outpace obtainable properties in a number of markets, at the same time as worth development turns into uneven.
Throughout the most popular markets, a defining function stands out — stock properly beneath one month on the present gross sales tempo.
Bloomington-Regular, Illinois, stands out as HousingWire’s hottest market of 2026 and presently sits at 0.4 months of stock. The median listing worth within the metro space is $355,000, up 16.4% from a 12 months earlier.
Regardless of greater than one-third of listings exhibiting worth cuts, demand stays robust sufficient to maintain speedy gross sales and upward pressure on prices.
“We want extra homes in Bloomington,” Patty Hadley of RE/MAX Selection instructed HousingWire. “Our native authorities has began just a few applications which can be going to be serving to with getting that completed, and we’re actually enthusiastic about it.
“The homes hold shifting fairly shortly. I had a home that was in the marketplace for 2 months, which is uncommon, nevertheless it was the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that’s all the time a bit of bit slower. It’s a very thrilling time right here and in central Illinois, usually.”
Midwest and school cities dominant
The Midwest options prominently among the many hottest markets — with Illinois and Ohio every claiming a number of spots.
Lawrence, Kansas; Sandusky, Ohio; Kankakee-Bradley, Illinois; Mansfield, Ohio; and Bay Metropolis, Michigan, all rank close to the highest on account of tight provide and regular purchaser curiosity.
Faculty cities additionally seem like enjoying an outsized position.
Bloomington-Regular; Lawrence; and Ithaca, New York, profit from secure employment bases and constant housing demand tied to universities, at the same time as broader market situations fluctuate.
“I promote all the pieces from Peoria as much as El Paso right down to central Illinois as a complete, not simply Bloomington,” Hadley added. “Regular is robust. Like I stated, we don’t have sufficient homes in Bloomington, so we find yourself with lots of people getting displaced in housing inside 30 miles of the world.
“Bloomington additionally retains lots of people right here as a result of we have now a number of business — there’s State Farm, we have now Rivian, Carle Well being, numerous issues that hold individuals in our city. I can see that making our market stand out.”
Scorching markets, cooling costs
A number of markets illustrate that intense competitors doesn’t all the time translate into rising costs.
Nice Falls, Montana, noticed median listing costs fall almost 8% 12 months over 12 months, whereas Ithaca posted a 7.4% decline. Carson Metropolis, Nevada, and Lawrence additionally skilled modest worth drops.
On the identical time, worth cuts are more and more frequent.
In Sandusky, Carson Metropolis and Bay Metropolis, roughly half of all listings included a discount. This means that sellers are testing the market — and adjusting shortly when patrons resist greater worth factors.
Bigger metros nonetheless kicking
Amongst main markets with at the least 1,000 properties on the market, competitors is much less excessive however nonetheless favors sellers.
Richmond, Virginia, and Spokane, Washington, stand out, with median listing costs of $450,000 and $475,000, respectively.
In California, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont stays aggressive regardless of a median worth approaching $1 million — reflecting a market that has stabilized however not softened dramatically.
Midwestern metros together with Cincinnati, St. Louis, Columbus and Cleveland additionally rank among the many hottest massive markets, cementing the area’s relative affordability and rising attraction.
The early 2026 housing panorama is outlined much less by runaway worth development and extra by a persistent scarcity of properties.
Geographic range is hanging — from small school cities to main coastal metros — however the frequent thread is restricted provide.
