The PropertyIQ Score just flipped the map. Affordable Northeast and Midwest metros now show the strongest housing demand momentum in the country, while pandemic-era Sun Belt boomtowns sit at the very bottom. Here is where demand is heating and cooling, with the data behind every ranking.
PropertyIQ ranked the top real estate market in every state for Q2 2026. Rochester NY (Score 99), North Platte NE (Score 99), and Norwich CT (Score 98) lead a field where the Northeast and Upper Midwest dominate. See all 50 markets with context.
Real estate markets with rising rents in 2026 are concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, where PropertyIQ Scores above 90 signal demand-supply imbalances that drive rent pressure upward. Rochester scores 99, Hartford 98, Buffalo 98. Here is what the data shows.