The Hottest and Coldest Metros for Home Prices (2026)
Older metros in the Northeast and Midwest lead while Western and Sun Belt boomtowns cool. Metro home-price growth as of Q2 2026.
Key findings
- Among the largest U.S. metros, Elgin, IL had the fastest home-price growth in Q2 2026 at +7.5% year over year, while Everett, WA was weakest at -3.9%.
- The next-hottest metros were Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ (+6.9%) and Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT (+6.5%).
- 26 of the 100 metros tracked saw prices fall over the year, concentrated in markets that boomed hardest during the pandemic.
- These are index percent changes on repeat sales, measuring how fast prices moved, not how expensive homes are.
Metro markets diverge even more than states. This ranks the largest U.S. metropolitan areas by year-over-year change on the FHFA purchase-only index as of Q2 2026. Metros in the Northeast and Midwest have taken the lead, while several Western and Sun Belt boomtowns have cooled or turned negative. An index tracks price change relative to a base period, not dollar price levels.
Fastest-growing metros
| Year-over-year change | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|
| Elgin, IL | 7.55% |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 6.93% |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 6.5% |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 6.36% |
| El Paso, TX | 6.23% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 6.09% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL | 5.79% |
| New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ | 5.57% |
| Newark, NJ | 5.44% |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | 5.12% |
| Cleveland, OH | 5.1% |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 5.02% |
Weakest metros
| Year-over-year change | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | -0.8% |
| Colorado Springs, CO | -0.86% |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | -1.06% |
| Washington, DC-MD | -1.12% |
| Albuquerque, NM | -1.71% |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | -1.99% |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA | -2.35% |
| Tucson, AZ | -2.44% |
| Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA | -2.52% |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | -2.54% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | -2.96% |
| Everett, WA | -3.88% |
All metros tracked
| Metro area | Year-over-year |
|---|---|
| Elgin, IL | +7.5% |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | +6.9% |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | +6.5% |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | +6.4% |
| El Paso, TX | +6.2% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | +6.1% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL | +5.8% |
| New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ | +5.6% |
| Newark, NJ | +5.4% |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | +5.1% |
| Cleveland, OH | +5.1% |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | +5.0% |
| Camden, NJ | +4.9% |
| Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, MI | +4.7% |
| Boston, MA | +4.6% |
| Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY | +4.4% |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | +4.3% |
| Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | +4.2% |
| Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA | +4.2% |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | +4.1% |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | +4.1% |
| Boise City, ID | +3.9% |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | +3.6% |
| Columbus, OH | +3.6% |
| Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV | +3.5% |
| Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA | +3.4% |
| West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, FL | +3.2% |
| Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI | +3.2% |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | +3.2% |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | +3.1% |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | +3.0% |
| Worcester, MA | +2.9% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | +2.9% |
| Lakewood-New Brunswick, NJ | +2.9% |
| Philadelphia, PA | +2.8% |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | +2.8% |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | +2.6% |
| Omaha, NE-IA | +2.6% |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | +2.4% |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | +2.3% |
| Oklahoma City, OK | +2.3% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | +2.2% |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA | +2.2% |
| Rochester, NY | +2.2% |
| Tampa, FL | +2.2% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | +2.0% |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | +2.0% |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | +2.0% |
| Columbia, SC | +2.0% |
| Tacoma-Lakewood, WA | +2.0% |
| Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | +2.0% |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | +1.8% |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | +1.8% |
| Baton Rouge, LA | +1.8% |
| Richmond, VA | +1.8% |
| Tulsa, OK | +1.8% |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | +1.7% |
| Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | +1.6% |
| Knoxville, TN | +1.6% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | +1.3% |
| Fresno, CA | +1.3% |
| Marietta, GA | +1.2% |
| Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT | +1.2% |
| St. Petersburg-Clearwater-Largo, FL | +1.0% |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | +0.8% |
| Birmingham, AL | +0.8% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | +0.7% |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA | +0.5% |
| Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD | +0.5% |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | +0.3% |
| Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine, TX | +0.3% |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | +0.2% |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | +0.2% |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | +0.2% |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | +0.0% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | -0.1% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA | -0.1% |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX | -0.1% |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | -0.2% |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | -0.2% |
| Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL | -0.3% |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | -0.3% |
| Jacksonville, FL | -0.4% |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | -0.4% |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | -0.5% |
| Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Sunrise, FL | -0.5% |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | -0.7% |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | -0.8% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | -0.8% |
| Colorado Springs, CO | -0.9% |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | -1.1% |
| Washington, DC-MD | -1.1% |
| Albuquerque, NM | -1.7% |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | -2.0% |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA | -2.3% |
| Tucson, AZ | -2.4% |
| Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA | -2.5% |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | -2.5% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | -3.0% |
| Everett, WA | -3.9% |
FHFA purchase-only quarterly index for the largest metros, year-over-year change (not seasonally adjusted). Index percent change, not dollar prices.
Data Sources & Methodology
The figures on this page are computed directly from the source data below. Narrative text accompanies the figures but never generates them.
FHFA House Price Index (HPI)
- Publisher:
- Federal Housing Finance Agency
- Vintage:
- 2026
- Access:
- BigQuery
- Cadence:
- monthly
The Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index measures changes in single-family home values using a repeat-sales method on mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The master file carries every published series: monthly indexes for the nation and the nine Census divisions, and quarterly indexes for states and metropolitan areas, in multiple index types, back to the 1970s.
The HPI is a weighted repeat-sales index: it tracks price changes on the same homes over time using mortgage transactions acquired or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Values are index levels relative to a base period, not dollar prices.
Monthly indexes are published for the United States and the nine Census divisions; state and metropolitan-area indexes are quarterly. Both seasonally adjusted and not-seasonally-adjusted series are provided.
Price growth is computed as the percent change in the index between two periods. Because it is an index, comparisons are about rate of change, not absolute price levels between places.
- The purchase-only and standard indexes cover only homes with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages, so cash sales and homes financed outside the enterprises are not included.
- It is an index of price change, not a measure of dollar price levels, so two places with the same index are not equally expensive.
- Monthly detail exists only for the nation and Census divisions; state and metro series are quarterly.
- Recent periods can be revised as more transactions are reported.
How these figures were produced
- Estimate type:
- Repeat-sales price index (not a count or dollar level)
- Weighting:
- Repeat-sales weighting of enterprise-acquired mortgages
Suggested citation
Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index, 2026. Analysis by Matt George, itsmattgeorge.com. Retrieved 2026-10-24.