As 2025’s real estate market starts to heat up, Zillow is predicting one city will stand out as this year’s hottest major housing market. While I thought an urban epicenter with a high cost of living like New York City would take the title, a different Empire State city earned the honor: Buffalo is getting the recognition for the second year in a row. That’s proof the market there is incredibly strong, as it’s the first time a market has gotten the title back to back, according to Zillow.
While the city is best known for being the home of the Buffalo Bills and the birthplace of the chicken wing, Buffalo became the booming metropolitan area to move to in 2024 and the demand is still going strong in the new year — and it turns out what defines a “hot” job market is a little more nuanced than I previously expected.
“In chilly Buffalo, competition among buyers will remain hot, with employment growing far faster than builders are adding homes,” Skylar Olsen, Zillow’s chief economist, said in a statement.