Downtown Providence. Photo courtesy of Will Hart / CC BY-2.0

While Greater Boston jumped 10 spots in Zillow’s hottest markets rankings compared to 2024, the market was still outpaced by the likes of Hartford, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island.

Boston clocked in at 16th overall in Zillow’s 2025 rankings right behind Miami, Florida, and ahead of San Diego, California. The commonwealth is projected to see home values rise by 2.1 percent in 2015 according to Zillow.

Neighbors to the south have a much more favorable outlook as Providence was ranked third while Hartford slotted in at fourth. The relative affordability of these markets to the Boston market is credited for the positive outlook. Additionally, Hartford is predicted to have the largest home value growth of all markets – 4.2 percent.

“Construction that keeps pace with an area’s growth remains a crucial piece of keeping homes available and accessible,” Skylar Olsen, Zillow chief economist, said in a statement. “Shoppers nationwide should see more options for sale than in recent years, along with slow and steady price growth. That’s the good news. But both buyers and sellers should expect unpredictable mortgage rates.”

Buffalo, New York was named the hottest market for the second year in a row, the first time that has occurred in Zillow’s analysis. Buffalo has the most new jobs per new home permitted among the markets featured in the rankings and is expected to see home values increase by 2.8 percent.