4 Mass. cities make Realtor.com's list of the hottest ZIP codes

“Buyers have honed in on affordable Midwest and well-located Northeast metros that offer some combination of value and desirability.”

It was the first time that a Springfield metro — Westfield — made the Realtor.com list. Adobe Stock

Four Massachusetts communities made Realtor.com’s list of the hottest 50 ZIP codes for home buyers in 2024.

The report, released Monday, named Gahanna, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, the hottest market in the United States for the second year in a row. The median list price for a home there was $345,000.

The real estate marketplace reached its findings based on an algorithm that takes into account market demand (as measured by unique viewers) and the pace of the market (as measured by the number of a days a listing remains active on the site). It looked a listings from January to June. The list of top ZIP codes is limited to one per metropolitan area.

The Massachusetts entries reflect the growing need for more affordable housing and the push to find it beyond the city centers. The state’s first entry on the list was Salem, which landed at No. 3. with a median list price of $596,000. Homes in this North Shore city spent a median of 16 days on the market. Leominster, in Worcester County, and Westfield, in Hampden County, ranked No. 7 and 8, respectively. Attleboro, in Bristol County, was No. 3.

These were the top 20:

RANK	ZIP NAME	METRO AREA	VIEWS PER PROPERTY VS. US	MEDIAN DAYS ON MARKET	JAN-JUN MEDIAN LISTING PRICE
1.	Gahanna, Ohio (43230)	Columbus, OH	4.3	11	$345,000
2.	Ballwin, Mo. (63021)	St. Louis, MO-IL	3.5	16	$409,000
3.	Salem (01970)	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	3.6	16	$596,000
4.	Basking Ridge, N.J. (07920)	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	3.5	16	$967,000
5.	Rochester, N.Y. (14609)	Rochester, N.Y.	2.9	8	$151,000
6.	Mount Laurel, N.J. (08054)	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	3.3	18	$385,000
7.	Leominster (01453)	Worcester, MA-CT	4.2	21	$462,000
8.	Westfield (01085)	Springfield, MA	5.2	20	$347,000
9.	Highland, Ind. (46322)	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	3.3	21	$250,000
10.	Macungie, Pa. (18062)	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	2.7	16	$462,000
11.	Livonia, Mich. (48154)	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	3	21	$328,000
12.	New Berlin, Wis. (53151)	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	4.1	23	$408,000
13.	Attleboro (02703)	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	2.9	21	$516,000
14.	Rockford, Ill. (61109)	Rockford, IL	3.1	22	$182,000
15.	Cincinnati (45240)	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	2.8	21	$256,000
16.	Trumbull, Conn. (06611)	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	4.6	25	$596,000
17.	Lancaster, Pa. (17601)	Lancaster, PA	3.4	21	$498,000
18.	Cleveland (44130)	Cleveland-Elyria, OH	3.8	24	$246,000
19.	Dayton, Ohio (45459)	Dayton-Kettering, OH	3.3	24	$325,000
20.	Hudson, N.H. (03051)	Manchester-Nashua, NH	3.3	27	$632,000

Source: Realtor.com

It was the first time that a Springfield metro ZIP made the list.

Five other New England communities made the top 50 list:

RANK	ZIP NAME	METRO AREA	VIEWS PER PROPERTY VS. US	MEDIAN DAYS ON MARKET	JAN-JUN MEDIAN LISTING PRICE
16.	Trumbull, Conn.	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	4.6	25	$596,000
20.	Hudson, N.H.	Manchester-Nashua, NH	3.3	27	$632,000
24.	Southington, Conn.	Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT	4.4	29	$493,000
34.	Torrington, Conn.	Torrington, Conn.	3.3	30	$271,000
42.	Naugatuck, Conn.	New Haven-Milford, CT	2.6	29	$328,000

Source: Realtor.com

Homes in the hottest communities spent 13 days on average on the market, according to Realtor.com — that’s 32 days fewer than the national median.

These ZIP codes tend to be wealthier and have older residents than the rest of the country. “The average household income in the hottest ZIPs was $95,000 compared to $76,000 nationally. … These markets also have a slightly higher share of households aged 45 years or older than the national average,” the report reads.