Texas and Sun Belt cities lead WalletHub's 2026 housing market rankings

WalletHub released its 2026 Best Real Estate Markets report, naming Frisco, Texas as the leading city for homebuyers, with McKinney, Texas and Murfreesboro, Tennessee completing the top three. The top five also include Durham, North Carolina and Denton, Texas, while the remainder of the top ten features Cary, North Carolina; Madison, Wisconsin; Allen, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Irvine, California. Analyst Chip Lupo highlighted that these Sun Belt locations benefit from robust price appreciation, active building-permit activity, and strong job growth, with nearly half of Frisco's housing stock built since 2010.

Coastal giants such as New York (ranked 231), Los Angeles (237) and San Francisco (273) lag far behind because high costs and weaker economic-environment scores hinder homeownership prospects. The study weighs market fundamentals and trajectory more heavily than affordability alone, noting that tax levels are a secondary factor. At the bottom of the list, New Orleans and Baltimore rank last, a signal that weak housing fundamentals can limit price growth and equity building.