These are the best US cities for those looking to buy a home, Zillow says

Real estate marketplace company predicts a healthier housing market this year

After years of brutal conditions for buyers, Zillow predicts 2026 could finally bring some relief.

The real estate marketplace company predicts a healthier housing market this year, giving buyers more breathing room and a chance to regain leverage.

But the outlook isn’t uniform. Some markets, like Hartford, Connecticut, are still battling tight inventory and fierce competition, while in others, high costs continue to keep buyers on the sidelines.

Zillow’s research identifies the metropolitan areas where buyers are most likely to come out ahead. Indianapolis tops the list, offering a rare mix of affordability, potential home-value growth and less crowded competition. Close behind are Atlanta and Charlotte, with Jacksonville and Oklahoma City rounding out the top five.

Zillow’s most buyer-friendly markets of 2026 are:

1. Indianapolis
2. Atlanta
3. Charlotte
4. Jacksonville
5. Oklahoma City
6. Memphis
7. Detroit
8. Miami
9. Tampa
10. Pittsburgh

Zillow says buyers have the most advantage in Indianapolis, followed by Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville and Oklahoma City (Getty Images)

To determine buyer friendliness, Zillow weighed three key factors: short-term cooling in home price growth paired with projected future gains, the affordability of monthly mortgage payments relative to local incomes, and less competitive market heat, which includes measures such as days a home spends on the market and the prevalence of price cuts. Markets that performed well across these factors offered a more balanced mix of opportunity and financial sustainability for buyers.

Most of the top 10 markets are located in the Midwest and Sun Belt, regions that either avoided the biggest pandemic-era price surges or have seen construction boost inventory levels, helping temper competition. Zillow’s data shows that in five of these top 10 areas, a typical home mortgage would consume less than 30 percent of the median household income, which is a threshold often used to gauge affordability.

Zillow predicts Hartford will be the nation’s hottest housing market in 2026, surpassing Buffalo, New York, which had held the top spot for the past two years. Providence, Rhode Island, and San Jose, California, complete the top five. In these metros, buyers can expect few price cuts, fast-moving listings, and strong price growth, according to the real estate analytics company.

Hartford, in particular, stands out for its extremely tight inventory. The city has the fewest homes available compared to pre-pandemic levels among major U.S. markets, with inventory still down 63 percent. This scarcity is a clear indicator of intense competition among buyers, Zillow says.

The competitive conditions are reflected in recent sales trends. In 2025, more than 66 percent of homes in Hartford sold above the listing price, the highest share among all major metropolitan areas.