The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) released its predictions for the real estate industry in the upcoming year, which includes a forecast of the top 10 housing hot spots for 2025. The Boston condo for sale market is one of those hot spots, according to the association’s recent report.

There are 10 factors that influence this prediction, NAR said. Firstly, the markets identified as potential hotspots have fewer locked-in homeowners. In a high mortgage rate environment, buyers with low rates are less likely to sell — but in markets where fewer homeowners are “locked in” to sweetheart rates, there’s a higher likelihood of increased inventory for buyers.

Next year’s hot spots have lower mortgage rates than the national average and faster job growth. They also have more Millennial renters who can afford to buy homes than the rest of the country, which means more potential buyers, and more households reaching homebuying age — according to NAR’s 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, that’s 38 years old.

NAR analysts also identified cities with higher net migration than the average level, as well as more movers who purchase homes than the national level. More people equals more buyers.

Furthermore, 2025 hot spots have more homeowners surpassing the average length of tenure than the national average, which is 16 years. Homeowners who have been in their homes for longer than 16 years are typically more likely to put their homes on the market.

Finally, the metros on NAR’s list have more starter homes than the rest of the country, and faster home price appreciation.

When it comes to the Boston metropolitan area, mortgage rates are typically lower than the national average, which NAR projects will stabilize around 6% in 2025. That should encourage homeowners to return to the market, therefore increasing supply. Boston also has plentiful starter homes, with 41% of owner-occupied units valued below $550,000.

Here’s NAR’s list of the top 10 housing hot spots in 2025, in alphabetical order:

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.
Grand Rapids-Kentwood, Mich.
Greenville-Anderson, S.C.
Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, Conn.
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Ariz.
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas

Nationally, NAR predicts that the volume of existing-home sales will reach 4.5 million in 2025, while home prices will increase at a slower pace than previous years, reaching a median of $410,700.

NAR also says inventory will increase next year, hitting 1.45 million units — that’s just below the historical average annual level of 1.5 million units.

“Homebuyers will have more success next year,” said NAR Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research Lawrence Yun. “The worst of the affordability challenges are over as more inventory, stable mortgage rates and continued job growth pave the way for more Americans to achieve homeownership.”