This Might Be the Best Place to Buy a House in the U.S. Right Now

Are you searching for a new home? If you’re hoping to beat out other buyers while still retaining plenty of options, you might want to consider heading south. According Zillow’s new “market heat index” report, released in May 2024, the region is home to all of the top 10 most buyer-friendly markets in the country, with Texas and Florida leading the way overall.

In fact, four cities in the Sunshine State are on Zillow’s list of the top 10 most buyer-friendly cities, which includes Miami in second place, Tampa in third, Jacksonville in fourth, and Orlando in sixth. Meanwhile, Texas cities make up three of the top 10, including San Antonio in seventh place, Austin in eighth, and Houston in ninth.

As the report notes, high housing construction activity in both states is helping to restore inventory levels in many of these cities to pre-pandemic levels. Austin and San Antonio, in fact, are two of only three markets in the U.S. that have more inventory now than they did before the pandemic, Zillow reports. Meanwhile, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville have the smallest inventory deficits nationwide.

The South does well elsewhere on the list, with New Orleans currently taking first place as the most buyer-friendly place in the U.S. housing market. It’s also worth noting that Memphis comes in fifth given that Tennessee recently ranked second in USA Today’s list of the top 10 most affordable U.S. states in 2024.

Here are the top 10 most buyer-friendly housing markets in the U.S. right now, according to Zillow, listed with each region’s average home values:

1. New Orleans, Louisiana ($242,593)
2. Miami, Florida ($489,836)
3. Tampa, Florida ($381,137)
4. Jacksonville, Florida ($359,942)
5. Memphis, Tennessee ($241,995)
6. Orlando, Florida ($397,716)
7. San Antonio, Texas ($290,355)
8. Austin, Texas ($468,707)
9. Houston, Texas ($311,004)
10. Atlanta, Georgia ($386,193)

It’s not all good news for prospective buyers, though. Sellers still hold an advantage across most of the country, as housing inventory levels overall aren’t back to pre-pandemic levels in many other regions. By contrast, Zillow reports that many of the most seller-friendly markets — such as Buffalo, San Jose, San Francisco, and New York City — are located in the two most expensive U.S. states: New York and California.

You can check out Zillow’s full report here.