Prakash, a data scientist at Zillow Economic Research, explains that affordability is the "most powerful force driving real estate development," making low-cost markets in the Great Lakes, Midwest, and South the main components of the 2024 rankings.

Affordability and strong employment opportunities provide young people with the opportunity to purchase homes and accumulate assets. Prakash believes that when affordable housing prices and strong employment opportunities allow young people to buy homes and begin accumulating assets, the real estate market is at its healthiest. However, most experts do not expect the shortage of homes for sale to be resolved quickly.

Charlotte ranked first on the list last year but dropped to seventh place in the 2024 rankings. San Antonio, Texas, ranked fourth in 2022, ranked 13th last year, but fell to 49th place in 2024.

This indicates that the real estate market has a certain degree of uncertainty, and rankings may change over time. Zillow's analysis covers rankings for the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States, considering factors such as forecasted price growth and housing transaction speed.

Nevertheless, many experts believe that the issue of a shortage of homes for sale will not be resolved quickly. However, by 2024, the increase in single-family home construction and the completion of a significant number of multifamily homes under construction will provide more choices, most of which will be rental housing.

Chief economist Hale of Realtor.com states, "By 2024, a modest increase in single-family home construction, along with the completion of a significant number of multifamily homes under construction, will provide families with more choices, with the vast majority being rental housing."

Mortgage interest rates have steadily declined over the past seven weeks, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage reaching 6.61% for the week ending December 28. Data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that lower mortgage rates have boosted existing home sales, with sales in November increasing by 0.8% compared to October, breaking a five-month downward trend. This is also a signal of stability in the real estate market's recovery.

However, Zillow analysts point out that while the decline in mortgage interest rates will promote the real estate market, we should not expect a significant surge in home prices as seen in the early days of the pandemic, nor should we anticipate a rapid increase in mortgage rates in recent years. Therefore, Prakash maintains a cautious optimistic outlook for the development of the real estate market.

According to Zillow's data, the top ten hottest real estate markets in 2024 include New York Buffalo City, Cincinnati, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Providence, Rhode Island, Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina, Cleveland, Ohio, Orlando, Florida, and Tampa, Florida. Among them, Buffalo City is considered to be one of the hottest real estate markets in 2024. This indicates that changes in the real estate market have a certain degree of uncertainty and require further monitoring.