According to Realtor.com Research, Kenosha, Wisconsin has taken the top spot on the hottest housing markets list for September 2026, moving up one position from the previous month. What makes Kenosha particularly attractive is its location between Chicago and Milwaukee, combined with Wisconsin's more favorable tax environment. The metro is drawing buyers who want to earn Chicago-level salaries while benefiting from lower state taxes, all without sacrificing access to major job centers.
The numbers backing up Kenosha's ranking show real strength. Properties there are receiving three times the national average number of views, and homes are selling in about thirty-two days, which is roughly a month faster than the national average. The median listing price sits around $390,000, which puts Kenosha on par with comparable markets but notably more affordable than Chicago proper, making it an appealing option for cost-conscious buyers in an environment where mortgage rates are hovering above seven percent.
What caught my attention in this report is the fall from grace of Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire. This Boston-adjacent market has historically been a powerhouse, ranking in the top twenty for years and holding the top spot more times than any other metro in Realtor.com's tracking history going back to 2017. Yet it dropped out of the top twenty in August and fell further to thirty-eighth place in September. The culprit appears to be timing, with homes now taking forty-eight days to sell compared to just thirty-two days in Kenosha, making it less competitive despite still attracting solid buyer interest.
The broader pattern emerging here is really interesting. According to the research, buyers are gravitating toward smaller, pragmatic regional cities that sit just outside major economic hubs. The Midwest dominates the hottest markets list, with places like Racine and Janesville-Beloit offering similar value propositions to Kenosha. Meanwhile, Northeast markets like Providence and Hartford are capitalizing on this same geography-based arbitrage, positioning themselves within commuting distance of Boston and New York while offering substantially lower prices than those major metros.
There's also movement happening in some larger markets, particularly on the West Coast. Realtor.com reports that San Francisco improved its ranking by twenty-three spots compared to a year ago and currently ranks seventy-ninth overall. This improvement appears tied to the area's ongoing technology boom and the fact that homes are selling more than three weeks faster than the national norm. While San Francisco and other large markets are still trailing the hottest smaller metros, they're beginning to capture renewed buyer attention.
What I am seeing locally in the Bay Area aligns with what this national data is showing. Our market remains competitive, and that AI-driven demand is real and noticeable. However, I'm also talking with plenty of clients who are exploring options in secondary markets that offer better affordability while keeping commuting distances reasonable. The current mortgage rate environment above seven percent is making price really matter in a way it hasn't in years, and that's shifting buyer behavior toward those regional sweet spots Realtor.com is identifying.
