Midwest gains vs Sun Belt

Homebuyers are bidding up houses in parts of the Midwest and Rust Belt while prices cool across much of the Sun Belt. (fortune.com) Realtor.com said the Midwest and Northeast took all 20 spots in its March 2026 hottest-markets ranking, with Springfield, Massachusetts, at No. 1 and Wisconsin placing six metros. Homes in those hot markets lasted a median 34 days, nearly a month less than the national norm. (realtor.com) Among the large metros, Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas, made one of the biggest jumps, rising 56 places to No. 79 nationally, while Rochester, New York, Canton-Massillon, Ohio, and Milwaukee also landed in the top 20. Springfield’s median listing price was about $352,500 in March, versus more than $829,000 in Boston. (realtor.com) Realtor.com’s December outlook for 2026 had already pointed to the same shift. It said the top markets for this year shared lower prices, limited new construction, and weaker mortgage lock-in, with a top-10 average listing price around $384,000 versus a $415,000 national median. (realtor.com) Nationally, the market has slowed enough that cheaper cities now stand out more. Cotality said annual home-price growth decelerated to 0.5% in February 2026, and 13 states posted negative year-over-year appreciation. (cotality.com) Cotality said Illinois prices were up 4.83% from a year earlier and New Jersey was up 5.93%, while Florida was down 2.30%. The firm said the Midwest and Northeast were buffering the national index as buyers searched for lower-cost markets. (cotality.com) The buyer math improved early this year, then got harder again. ICE Mortgage Technology said 30-year mortgage rates bottomed near 5.95% in early 2026 before rising about 40 basis points since late February, cutting buying power by roughly 4%. (mortgagetech.ice.com) Even after that rebound in rates, ICE said March affordability was the best for that month in four years, and 99 of the 100 largest markets were still more affordable than a year earlier. Inventory rose 8% year over year in March, with the strongest supply gains in the Mountain West and parts of the South. (mortgagetech.ice.com) Realtor.com reported median list prices fell year over year for a fifth straight month in March, and asking prices were flat or down in 34 of the 50 biggest metros. That left more room for buyers in many Sun Belt markets than they had during the pandemic boom. (realtor.com) The split now is less about a national boom or bust than about where buyers can still make the numbers work. In April 2026, that has meant older industrial metros gaining heat while many once-sizzling Sun Belt markets cool. (cotality.com)