Despite chilly headwinds coming from still-high mortgage rates and home prices, certain real estate markets are still shockingly active as homebuyers race to seal deals before the new year.

A new Realtor.com® report has found that November’s hottest markets lie squarely in two areas of the U.S.: the Northeast, with 11 metros in the top 20, and the Midwest, with the remaining nine metros. (Rankings are based on the number of views that listings in these metropolitan areas receive on Realtor.com, and how quickly properties are selling.)

The hottest market of all in November was Manchester, NH, about an hour’s drive north of Boston.

“Manchester has been a mainstay of the hottest markets list, ranking first a total of 22 times,” said Realtor.com economist Hannah Jones in her analysis. “This is the fifth time the area has ranked No. 1 in 2023, but the area has been in the top three each month since February 2021.”

The reason Manchester remains at or near the top of the list is fairly simple: Despite its median prices being fairly high at $520,000, the area is essentially a bedroom community of Boston, where median home prices are much higher at an eye-watering $824,000.

The Rochester, NY, metro, about a three-hour drive from the Canadian border, came in second on the hottest markets list with a much friendlier median home price of $239,000.

Where America’s newest hot markets are hiding

Although the Northeast remains the most sought-after region of the U.S., the Midwest is not far behind, with Rockford, IL, holding the No. 3 spot. This area also recently welcomed three newcomers to the rankings.

Two of those Midwestern metros joined the list in October and have held on in November. At No. 17 is Lafayette, IN, and tied for No. 18 are Canton, OH, and Erie, PA.

“Canton and Lafayette have both been on the hottest markets list before, but this was the first month in the data’s history that Erie, PA, has appeared on the list,” explained Jones.

Erie, named for neighboring Lake Erie, is a growing city known for offering jobs in medicine, manufacturing, and tourism.

In all, “these new hot spots drew 1.8 to 2.3 times the number of viewers per property that the typical U.S. listing in November attracted,” added Jones.

The Midwest’s affordability advantage

The Midwest, known as America’s heartland, might be edging out the Northeast’s reign as the nation’s hottest real estate region largely due to its bargain home prices.

“The three new Midwest markets boasted median listing prices $140,000 or more below the national median in November,” said Jones. (The national median home price was $420,000 in November.)

Homes in Lafayette cost a median of $280,000, while prices in Canton are a mere $235,000. And home shoppers can find the lowest prices in Erie, at about $225,000.

Yet these wallet-friendly deals might not last forever.

“Prices increased only slightly nationwide in November, but the month’s hottest markets saw more substantial price growth due to high demand,” cautioned Jones.

In addition to rising prices, homes in this Midwest metro trio spent fewer days on the market than a typical home.

In November, homes nationwide spent a median of 52 days on the market. Yet homes in Lafayette were snapped up after only 37 days. Meanwhile, Canton and Erie homes spent 35 and 42 days on the market respectively. So buyers looking for great prices should act fast.

For those homebuyers who simply cannot stand the cold no matter the savings, “the Phoenix metro area saw the largest increase in its hotness ranking among large U.S. metros compared to last year, climbing 127 spots to rank as the 140th hottest U.S. market in November,” said Jones.

The home prices? Equally hot at $522,000.

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