Ranking the Country's Hottest Suburban Housing Markets

A new Realtor.com study used the company's "Market Hotness Index" to find the parts of the country with rising demand and fast moving supply.

1 minute read

February 14, 2017, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Arizona Suburb

Tim Roberts Photography / Shutterstock

"Realtor.com announced America's top suburban hotspots, led by Northeast/Montbello, Colo. (a suburb of Denver); Wylie/St. Paul, Texas (a suburb of Dallas); and Dublin/Dougherty, Calif. (a suburb of San Francisco)," reports Builder magazine. According to the article two factors drove the popularity of the top suburban markets: "proximity to thriving urban centers and strong household growth."

The suburbs on the list are located just outside urban centers that are 20% hotter than the average metro, where homes are viewed 1.4 more times than the average home included in the study. Additionally, these suburban hotspots have seen an average of 18.8% household growth over the last seven years, which is 2.4 and 2.8 times more growth than other suburban and urban neighborhoods, respectively.

Steve Brown provides local coverage of the study, focusing especially on the Dallas-area's contribution to the list: Wylie and St. Paul.

Sabrina Speianu shares the main takeaways from the larger report in a post for Realtor.com. The "Top Suburban Zip Codes" list is one of several shared there, including one that shouldn't go unnoticed by observers of the nation's growth: "Relative Top Suburban Zips" (i.e., suburban neighborhoods outperforming their urban counterparts).

Monday, February 13, 2017 in Builder

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 30, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up on Canadian flag with Canada Parliament building blurred in background.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?

As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

April 28, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Hot air balloons rise over Downtown Boise with the State Capitol building visible amidst the high rises.

The Five Most-Changed American Cities

A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

April 23, 2025 - GoodMigrations

People biking along beach path with moored ship in San Diego, California.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan

The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

5 hours ago - SD News

Sleeping in Public

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts

Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

6 hours ago - KSL

Conductor walks down platform next to Amtrak train at station in San Jose, California.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement

An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.

7 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO