Irondequoit, N.Y.—a suburb of Rochester—is the most competitive housing market in the U.S., according to a report from Redfin. Homes in the lakeside town typically sell in 8 1/2 days and for well over their asking price. It’s followed by Sunnyvale, Calif., Santa Clara, Calif., Tonawanda Town, N.Y. (a Buffalo suburb), and Mountain View, Calif.
Four of the top 10 most competitive cities were in California, three were in Western New York, and the rest were in the South and on the East Coast, according to Redfin. Every city has less than a month of supply, and in most cases, over half of homes sell within two weeks. Nationwide, the typical house sells in a month and a half.
For the past few years, housing has been a waiting game, as buyers balk at record-high prices and sellers hold off on listing their homes until activity returns. In November 2025, prices rose to a new monthly high, the typical home took seven days longer to go under contract than a year prior, and new listings decreased to a new monthly low.
Since the pandemic, the housing market has strayed from its typical patterns, according to Redfin. Usually, prices rise when competition goes up, helping level the balance of power between buyers and sellers. Today, competition is at historic lows, yet prices are still climbing, putting pressure on everyone.
“Homebuyers are facing a very unaffordable market, leaving many in search for anything they can swing,” Asad Khan, a senior economist at Redfin, said in a release. “Many are choosing lower-cost cities in the Rust Belt and East Coast, where their dollars go farther. But others are still competing at the high end: Competition has recently jumped in the Bay
Homes throughout Western and Upstate New York have been flying off the shelves for more than two years now as buyers seek out affordable places to live. Some of the other most competitive places are North Tonawanda, N.Y., Elizabethtown, Pa., and Cheektowaga, N.Y. The common thread? They’re all in the Rust Belt.
The Rust Belt has been an affordable region for decades, but until recently, many of its cities were written off as examples of urban decline, according to Redfin. Yet, alongside renewed investment and economic growth, the region has heated up in recent years as buyers look for homes they can afford — especially after mortgage rates spiked in 2022.
When mortgage rates climbed to historic highs and remote work was booming, homebuyers in expensive coastal metros searched far and wide for more affordable options. Among cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., the Bay Area was the top place where more Redfin.com users searched to leave rather than move to.
But once migration dropped off as remote work declined, people returned to the coasts, according to Redfin. The Bay Area saw a resurgence late in 2023, and following a rapid flip from a buyer's to a slight seller’s market earlier in 2025, it’s clear that demand has returned. The AI boom has likely spurred competition.
Another reason for the coastal resurgence is that affordability has improved. Prices have stagnated in the last year while incomes have grown on the back of AI — often accompanied by major signing bonuses.
Today’s buyers who can still afford to purchase are often doing so in the nation’s most affordable cities. That inflow has been a boon for local economies, but is also pushing demand up, depleting supply, and creating a strong buyer’s market.
Some advocacy groups have cautioned that this demand and investment is pricing locals out of their homes. For example, in ultra-competitive upstate New York, residents in cities like Buffalo and Rochester have seen a surge in costs and new financial challenges.
The Sun Belt exploded in popularity during the pandemic, when scores of homebuyers moved in from more expensive parts of the country in search of sunshine and affordability. Cities like Austin, Texas, Nashville, Tenn., and Miami were among the top destinations.
But that surge in demand helped push prices sharply higher — and, combined with rising climate risks and an escalating insurance crisis, has since driven many buyers away.
Now, the region has largely cooled, with many cities among the least competitive in the nation. In Las Vegas, for example, the city has contended with over a year straight of 20 percent-plus inventory increases, demonstrating how slow the market has been. Sellers are struggling to offload their listings.
Housing supply often plays an equal or even larger role in housing market competitiveness, according to Redfin. Places that have built more homes generally have more supply to satiate demand.
Cities in Florida and Texas have constructed tens of thousands of homes in the past five years, giving buyers far more options. On the other end of the spectrum, New York and California have continued to lag behind what’s needed, forcing more buyers to compete over a smaller and often aging housing stock. For example, Buffalo, N.Y., built just 74 new single-family homes in November, while Austin, Texas, built 3,465.
Redfin predicts that Great Lakes cities like Rochester and Buffalo will be the hottest housing markets in 2026, while coastal Florida and Texas will be the slowest. Nationwide, competition will marginally decrease in 2026 but should improve slowly over time as mortgage rates hold in the low 6 percent range during peak homebuying season.
Lower mortgage rates and higher wages will ease the price pressure somewhat and bring some homebuyers off the sidelines, but many house hunters will remain priced out.
“Competition and affordability are closely connected,” Khan said. “Generally, when one falls, the other rises. As the supply of homes for sale grows and buyers’ buying power improves, we’ll begin to approach more ‘normal’ sales numbers.”