Macungie, Pa., one of the communities served by members of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® has been ranked No. 10 in the 10th annual Realtor.com® Hottest ZIP Codes Report released today.
“Macungie’s growing appeal is a testament to its vibrant community, excellent opportunities for education, and proximity to key amenities, making it a prime destination for homebuyers,” said 2024 GLVR President-elect Michael Bernadyn. “The demand for homes in the area has continued to surge, and it’s no surprise that Macungie was named to Realtor.com’s Hottest ZIPs for 2024.”
East Penn, the school district that serves Macungie, has showed impressive numbers for 2024. According to the July market report from the Greater Lehigh Valley Multiple Listing Service (July is the most recent report available), Macungie is showing gains across almost all key housing metrics (the below stats are 2024 vs. 2023):
- New Listings: 465 vs. 383 (+21.4%)
- Pending Sales: 387 vs. 363 (+6.6%)
- Closed Sales: 355 vs. 367 (-3.3%)
- Average Sale Price: $428,842 vs. $394,801 (+8.6%)
- Inventory (July vs. July): 79 vs. 46 (+71.7%)
Once again this years’ hottest ZIPs are located exclusively in the Midwest and the Northeast, as each of this year’s top markets attract buyers who are looking for a combination of value and desirability.
Joining Macungie, Pa., on the top 10 2024 Hottest ZIP Codes in America, in rank order, are:
- 43230 Gahanna, Ohio
- 63021 Ballwin, Mo.
- 01970 Salem, Mass.
- 07920 Basking Ridge, NJ
- 14609 Rochester, NY
- 08054 Mount Laurel, NJ
- 01453 Leominster, Mass.
- 01085 Westfield, Mass.
- 46322 Highland, IN
- 18062 Macungie, Pa.
“While we’ve seen big changes in the housing market, such as a growing number of homes for sale, this year’s hottest ZIP codes in America show common factors are driving interest in these highly competitive areas,” said Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “Although mortgage rate relief is starting to materialize, this year’s hottest ZIPs reflect the focus on affordability that home shoppers have had over the last few years in the face of high housing costs. Concentrated in larger metros across the Northeast and Midwest, these top 10 ZIPs attracted highly qualified home buyers seeking more space without relinquishing proximity to urban amenities.”
Value for Everyone
This years’ hottest ZIP codes all offered some form of value for potential buyers. Compared to the greater U.S. housing market, and even the surrounding areas in which they sit, each of the top 10 have a lower median list price and/or median listing price per square foot. The Midwest zips, Columbus (ZIP 43230 in Gahanna, Ohio), Chicago (ZIP 46322 in Highland, Ind.), and St. Louis (ZIP 63021 in Ballwin, Mo.), on this year’s list were priced an average 24.6% lower than the national median in June. Three Northeast ZIPs Rochester, N.Y. (ZIP 14609 in central Rochester), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (ZIP 08054 in Mount Laurel, NJ) and Springfield, Mass. (ZIP 01085 in Westfield, Mass.), on this years’ list were priced an average 28.8% below the U.S. median in June. Even the list’s highest priced market in Basking Ridge, NJ (ZIP 07920), with a median listing price of $995,000 in June, was affordable relative to the larger New York City metro area. The median listing price per square foot in Basking Ridge was 33.6% below the surrounding metro’s average in June
Highly Competitive
Competition for homes in this years’ hottest ZIPs has quickened the market pace. Homes in the hottest ZIPs spent an average 13 days on the market in June 2024, more than a month (-32 days) less than the national median. The high-stakes environment in these areas means that successful buyers are well-qualified and well-equipped to purchase a home. Successful buyers in these areas had an average credit score of 757 compared to the U.S.’ average of 734 as well as a 16.7% average down payment compared to the national average of 14.0% in the first half of 2024. Not only are homes going fast in these hottest markets, in the first four months of the year, homes sold for an average 3.3% over asking price while nationally homes sold for an average 2.3% under asking price in the same period.
Methodology Notes
Realtor.com’s Hottest Zip Code rankings are based on an algorithm that takes into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique viewers per property on Realtor.com, and 2) the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains active on Realtor.com. The hottest areas are those that have high demand from buyers, in other words, lots of unique viewers per each property, and fast-selling homes, an indicator of limited supply. Market Hotness rankings based on Realtor.com listing data from January to June 2024. The list of top zip codes is limited to one zip code per metropolitan area. Descriptive statistics in this write-up refer to June 2023 data unless otherwise noted.