These are the US cities where homes are selling the fastest — and 4 are in New York

New York’s got the juice, snagging four of the nation’s fastest-selling housing markets in January 2025, even as the broader US housing market trudges along at its slowest clip since pre-COVID days. 

Redfin’s latest data shows homes nationwide took a median of 56 days to find buyers — up a week from last year and the longest wait since January 2020. But the Empire State’s metro areas are defying the sluggish trend, closing deals at a breakneck pace and stealing the spotlight from slower regions.

Leading the charge is Rochester, where properties flew off the market in a median of just 13 days, the fastest in the country. 

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Nearby Buffalo wasn’t far behind, with homes snapped up in 16 days. Albany, the state’s capital city, clocked in at 25 days, and Long Island’s Nassau County rounded out New York’s strong showing among the top 10 quickest markets. 

Allentown, Pennsylvania, also hit the fast lane with 24 days, alongside Richmond, Virginia, at 27 days. 

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New York’s dominance in speedy sales points to robust demand, potentially fueled by relative affordability and steady economic activity in these metros compared with pricier coastal hubs.

“Those areas are post-industrial,” Kirsten Jordan, of the Corcoran Group, told The Post — and, indeed, Rochester and Buffalo are both in the Rust Belt. “They had this boom in the [20th century], where people were building homes and living there and working in factories, and then they left as the industrialization left.”

This left behind a supply of older, often fixer-upper homes that remain affordable, with median prices aligning closer to the national range of “three hundred and something thousand dollars,” she noted. “That makes a huge difference, especially for young people who just want to stabilize their living costs right now.”

Meanwhile, the national slowdown was stark in parts of the Sun Belt, particularly South Florida. 

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Fort Lauderdale homes lingered for a median of 92 days, with Miami close behind at 89 days — both of which were booming markets during the pandemic. 

Austin and West Palm Beach each posted 87 days, while Honolulu hit 84 days, placing them among the nation’s slowest markets. 

Other factors, including a shortage of homes, also contribute as to why homes are selling the fastest in the region.

“The northeast, and particularly New York, continues to be challenged by the lack of inventory which has kept days on market lower than markets in the Sun Belt states,” appraiser Jonathan Miller, of Miller Samuel, added. “Coming out of the pandemic, significant domestic migration southward caused overbuilding in those areas and drew more listings into the market for sale.”

Florida claimed four of the 10 slowest-selling metros, with most others in the South, signaling a cooling in regions that surged during the pandemic-era buying frenzy.

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“Right now with Florida, the cost of carrying those homes is going up so much because of insurance,” Jordan added, highlighting flood and natural disaster coverage as major expenses. “You’re not dealing with those crazy numbers up in New York because of the fact that we’re not seeing as much of those issues with regards to hurricanes.”

Florida’s metro areas also face infrastructure strain.

“If you’ve been to Miami recently … you literally have to drive around between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., otherwise you can’t get anywhere,” Jordan said.

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Add to that the rising costs of full-service buildings, and the appeal dims compared to New York’s single-family homes, where “you’re not paying a doorman or anything like that,” she added.

The contrast underscores a bifurcated market, where local factors like pricing and job growth drive outcomes. 

The contrast with Texas, another slow mover, is equally telling. Austin’s 87-day median reflects a cooling from its COVID-era boom.

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But unsustainable demand and job shifts led some to rethink their moves, unlike in New York, where “there’s a basic kind of stabilization of what people think that they’re gonna have to pay to live in these places,” Jordan noted.

New York’s fast markets benefit from “good solid infrastructure and quality of life,” Jordan said, fostering sustained demand.