US home prices are rising — but these fast-growing markets remain affordable
America’s hottest housing markets aren’t in flashy coastal cities — they’re in communities across the Midwest and South.
Even as the national market cools, areas in states like Missouri and Kentucky are seeing double-digit price growth while remaining within reach for middle-income buyers.
Recent data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) ranked the top five single-family metro areas with the highest home price appreciation last quarter.
Missouri’s Cape Girardeau held the top spot with a nearly 20% yearly increase and a $275,000 median home price, followed by Cumberland, Maryland, up 17.1% with a $174,900 median home price; Owensboro, Kentucky, up 15% with a $264,000 median home price; Anniston-Oxford, Alabama, with a 14.9% increase and $175,103 median home price; and Mobile, Alabama, which appreciated 13.7% at a median home price of $216,235.
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The numbers signal strength in smaller, more affordable pockets of American cities and that housing opportunities remain highest outside expensive urban cores. Migration toward lower-cost regions also continues to shape market dynamics.
In contrast, the bottom five single-family metro areas that had the slowest price appreciation were Elmira, New York; Farmington, New Mexico; Boulder, Colorado; Pueblo, Colorado; and Cleveland, Tennessee, with NAR noting that some overheated markets are correcting and higher-cost Western markets show pressure.
Additionally, America’s national median home prices rose 1.2% year-over-year to $414,900, signaling market resilience despite economic headwinds, while monthly mortgage payments fell 5.7% – to $2,057 – from the previous year.
The housing market has cooled this winter with the annual pace of home price growth easing to levels unseen since the nation was recovering from the Great Recession. While some areas continue to see strong price growth, others, like Hawaii, California, Texas and Florida, have seen notable declines.
As of last week, mortgage affordability was at a four-year high after rates fell in January, with the White House touting President Donald Trump’s economic policies and maintaining his promise to "unlock" the opportunity of homeownership for American families.
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As of Tuesday afternoon, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.09%, down from last week’s 6.11%, Freddie Mac reports. This time last year, the 30-year rate was at 6.87%.
"Joe Biden’s inflation crisis crushed the dream of homeownership for millions of Americans — but President Trump is bringing it back," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously told Fox News Digital. "Thanks to the President’s successful economic policies, unnecessary red tape is being cut at a historic pace, borrowing costs are easing, and income growth is outpacing home price gains — finally making housing more affordable again."
FOX Business’ Eric Revell and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.