2024’s hottest ZIP codes and hidden gems

When making one of the biggest decisions of their life, homeowners shouldn’t have to choose between their peace of mind and their next move. Instead, we’re declaring 2025 as the year that buyers and sellers reclaim “me” time and leave other stressors behind.

Buying a home already brings up a whirlwind of emotions – stress being #1 – and while a majority of buyers and sellers are excited about this next step, we found that Americans spent over a third of their waking hours solely on the home buying or selling process. Not only that, homeowners are losing sleep over the process – from being worried about offers falling through to finding it difficult to emotionally part with their home.

Similar to 2023, Houston, Texas dominates the top two spots of our list - but Katy moved into the top spot over Cypress this year. This comes as no surprise as Houston’s housing costs are among some of the lowest in the nation. And while Texas and Florida are heavily represented on our list, we also saw returning favorites like Summerville, South Carolina and Clarksvillle, Tennessee. We welcome three cities in the Tampa area to our list, as well as a new neighborhood in Austin, Texas. 

Over the past three years, we’ve seen people choose to move away from city centers in favor of tighter-knit communities, but still live close enough to commute and be close to the action. This year’s most popular areas are known for being fast-growing cities with plenty of new development, with healthy job growth in Florida and Texas in particular. If you’re looking to start over in 2025, use our top 20 list as your moving companion guide:

1. Katy, TX - 77493

2. Cypress, TX - 77433

3. San Antonio, TX - 78253

4. New Braunfels, TX - 78130

5. Summerville, SC - 29486

6. Forney, TX - 75126

7. Yukon, OK - 73099

8. Clarksville, TN - 37042

9. Parrish, FL - 34219

10. Kyle, TX - 78640

11. Davenport, FL - 33837

12. McKinney, TX - 75071

13. Winter Garden, FL - 34787

14. Saint Augustine, FL - 32092

15. Haines City, FL - 33844

16. Palm Coast, FL - 32137

17. Venice, FL - 34293

18. Maricopa, AZ - 85138

19. Ocala, FL - 34473

20. Fuquay Varina, NC - 27526

Up-and-comers

Last year, we unveiled a new category of hidden gems – neighborhoods that might often be overlooked – by examining where new listings increased from January to November 2024. These lists offer neighborhoods across different price points with something for everyone. Similar to the top 20 list, these are neighborhoods that are fast-developing, with something more turnkey, and in a smaller community.

Buyers aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure and a time crunch – home sellers are spending their precious time on everything from cleaning and staging their home, to managing repairs and accommodating showings, that the vast majority (71%) of respondents believe the process is like a second job. 

Instead of working overtime in 2025, sell your home directly to Opendoor to skip the headache and move onto your next chapter. Get started at Opendoor.com. 

Hottest ZIP Codes Methodology: Top ZIP codes are identified by analyzing data from the local Multiple Listing Services (MLS) where Opendoor Brokerage operates. ZIPs were ranked by total homes which went into contract within 90 days of listing in 2024.

Hidden Gems Methodology: Opendoor examined the number of new listings in its markets, in its buybox, [in certain price bands], and calculated the percentage increase in number of new listings from January 2024 to November 2024 on a zip code level. A ZIP code needed at least 5 new listings in both months to qualify for the list.