Why Realtor.com says this Central Mass. city has one of the country's 10 hottest markets

LEOMINSTER ― As the housing market in Massachusetts continues to be a tough one for buyers, one city in Central Massachusetts is looking increasingly attractive, according to a recent report by Realtor.com.

Last month, the website found that the 01453 ZIP code within Leominster was the seventh “hottest” single-family market in the country, based on indicators such as views for online real estate listings and days spent on the market.

The rankings are published annually.

“Relatively high demand pushed home prices an average 7.4% higher in the hottest ZIPs in the first half of the year, compared to just 0.4% median listing price growth nationally,” the report said. “These ZIPs raked in between 2.9 and 5.2 times the number of views per property as was typical in the U.S. in the first half of the year, which fueled a quick pace of sale.

“Homes spent between 32 and 45 fewer days on market than the typical U.S. home in the first half of the year.”

In the Leominster ZIP code, single-family homes in the first half of 2024 spend a median of 21 days on the market before closing, Realtor.com said.

The median listing price was $462,000 for a single-family home.

During this period, The Warren Group found the median sale price for a single-family home in Leominster to be at $450,500 across 106 sales, compared to a $425,000 median price and 93 sales in the same time frame of 2023.

Kathleen Walsh, a real estate agent based in Leominster, said the area’s draw could be traced to several different factors.

“It's close to Boston, we have the commuter rail, quick highway access, pretty low prime rate,” said Walsh. “This is also more affordable than some of the other suburbs.”

Walsh, who has been a real estate agent for more than 20 years, added that despite the good news, the real estate market continues to suffer from high mortgage rates and low inventory.

As prices in the eastern part of the state continue to rise, Central Massachusetts has drawn more interest from the area around Boston, Walsh said.

“You drive till you can afford, right?” Walsh said. “We get a lot of people from Lowell, Everett, from Somerville, because they can't afford where they are, and they’re willing to drive."

Realtor.com found that Gahanna, Ohio, had the hottest ZIP code in the country in the first half of the year, with a median listing price of $345,000 and homes spending a median of 11 days spent on the market. That was followed by zip codes in Ballwin, Missouri; Salem, Massachusetts; Basking Ridge, New Jersey; Rochester, New York; and Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Why Realtor.com says this Central Mass. city has one of the country's 10 hottest markets