"Zillow economists use an economic model known as the Zillow Market Heat Index to gauge the competitiveness of housing markets across the country. This model looks at key indicators-including home-price changes, inventory levels, and days on the market-to generate a score showing whether a market favors sellers or buyers. Higher scores point to hotter, seller-friendly metro housing markets. Lower scores signal cooler markets where buyers hold more negotiating power."
"Nationally, Zillow rates the U.S. housing market at 52 in its August 2025 reading, published this month. That said, Zillow's reading varies significantly across the country. Rochester, New York → 153 Buffalo, New York → 107 Hartford, Connecticut → 90 Syracuse, New York → 90 Albany, New York → 82 Charleston, West Virginia → 81 Poughkeepsie, New York → 80"
"Among the 250 largest metro-area housing markets, these 20 are the HOTTEST markets, where sellers have the most power: Jackson, Tennessee → 8 Terre Haute, Indiana → 10 Macon, Georgia → 20 Lafayette, Indiana → 21 Florence, South Carolina → 22 Gulfport, Mississippi → 25 Longview, Texas → 27 Beaumont, Texas → 29 Brownsville, Texas → 30 Naples, Florida → 30 Lubbock, Texas → 30 Asheville, North Carolina → 31 Waco, Texas → 31 Daphne, Alabama → 31 Panama City, Florida"
Zillow applies the Market Heat Index, which combines home-price changes, inventory levels, and days on market, to score metro-level housing competitiveness. The index categorizes scores into strong seller, seller, neutral, buyer, and strong buyer markets. The national reading for August 2025 is 52. Scores vary dramatically by metro, with some areas showing extremely high readings and others much lower. A curated list highlights metros with the highest numerical readings, including several upstate New York and New England metros, and another list identifies the hottest seller-favoring markets among the 250 largest metros across several southern and Texas markets.
Read at Fast Company
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