Small Northeast towns reign supreme as Zillow's 2023 most popular markets

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[{"type":"text","content":"West Chester, Pennsylvania, ranked as Zillow shoppers' favorite market of 2023\nSEATTLE, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The most popular market among Zillow® surfers this year was West Chester, Pennsylvania. After the West Coast ruled in 2021 and the Midwest took the top spot last year, the Northeast dominated this year's list. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nZillow surfers generally gravitated toward smaller cities in 2023. Of the 10 most popular markets, only one — Manchester, New Hampshire — has a population of more than 100,000, and most have less than half that number.\nThe top 10 most popular markets of 2023 on Zillow: \nWest Chester, PennsylvaniaNashua, New HampshireManchester, New HampshireWethersfield, ConnecticutWest Hartford, ConnecticutStow, OhioMiddletown, ConnecticutTwinsburg, OhioNewington, ConnecticutConcord, New HampshireChula Vista, California, won out for most popular large city. South Portland, Maine, was the most popular seaside town, while Vermilion, Ohio, took the top spot among vacation towns. North Carolina's Pinehurst edged out Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for the top retirement town. West Chester also ranked first among college towns, with Kent, Ohio, coming in just behind it. \n\"Affordability was the word on home shoppers' minds this year, and it shows in the most popular cities that buyers on Zillow gravitated toward,\" said Zillow Chief Economist Skylar Olsen. \"Heading into next year, the winds appear to be shifting just a bit. Buying a home will still be expensive in much of the country, but more listings and much flatter home price growth will make life easier for home shoppers.\"\nTo rank the most popular markets among Zillow surfers, Zillow analyzed housing metrics that indicate consumer demand — including page-view traffic, home value growth and days on market — for nearly 2,300 U.S. cities. \nMost popular on Zillow overall: West Chester, PennsylvaniaWest Chester, Pennsylvania, a quaint town of about 20,000 people near Philadelphia, took the top spot in Zillow's list of 2023's most popular markets. \nStrong interest among home shoppers on Zillow has helped push West Chester home values about 8% higher over the past year. The typical home in West Chester is worth about $584,000, putting it among the more expensive cities in Pennsylvania. But given its relative affordability compared to larger...

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