Harrisburg-Carlisle Climbs to No. 13 in Summer 2026 Housing Market Ranking
[ENOLA, PA] July 28, 2026 — The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com® Economics released the Summer 2026 Housing Market Ranking, revealing Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa, as no. 13, climbing nine spots into the top 20 from Spring 2026. South Bend-Mishawaka, Ind.-Mich., held on to the No. 1 spot for a third consecutive quarter.
The ranking shows buyers navigating a volatile environment, where early optimism from softening mortgage rates met geopolitical uncertainty and rising inflation. The Northeast and Midwest continue to see demand outrun supply, keeping sellers in a stronger position, while the South and West are finding more balance. The typical household in a top-20 market falls just 8.1% short of the income needed to afford the local median-priced home, compared to a 19.6% gap across the 200 largest U.S. metros.
“Climbing nine spots to No. 13 nationally is a strong signal for our market. It reflects the kind of sustained buyer interest and relative affordability that REALTORS® across Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry counties have been navigating with their clients all year,” said Tracee Carter, 2026 President of the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS®. “It’s a good reminder that Central Pennsylvania remains one of the more accessible places to buy in today’s national landscape.”
The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com® Economics reviewed data for the largest 200 metropolitan areas in the United States. The Summer 2026 ranking identified the following top areas:
- South Bend-Mishawaka, Ind.-Mich
- Appleton, Wis.
- Lancaster, Pa.
- Canton-Massillon, Ohio
- Springfield, Mass.
- Reading, Pa.
- Manchester-Nashua, N.H.
- Lynchburg, Va.
- Rockford, Ill.
- Akron, Ohio
- Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.
- Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
- Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W. Va.
- Peoria, Ill.
- Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.
- Fort Wayne, Ind.
- York-Hanover, Pa.
- Norwich-New London, Conn.
- Springfield, Mo.
Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa., was joined by three other new entrants this quarter: Champaign-Urbana, Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., and York-Hanover, Pa., all of which saw tightening supply and positive price growth. Four markets fell out of the top 20 to make room, most notably Lansing-East Lansing, Mich., and Flint, Mich., both of which saw the rapid price appreciation that drove their spring rankings cool considerably.
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis., remained the largest market in the top 20 and has now held a top-15 position for three consecutive quarters. Active listings there stayed more than 35% below pre-pandemic levels even as demand from nearby Chicago, its dominant feeder market, continued to climb.
The complete housing market analysis can be found on Realtor.com® Economics.
###
Methodology
The ranking evaluates the 200 most populous core-based statistical areas, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau, and defined by July 2023 OMB delineation standards for eight indicators across two broad categories: real estate market (60%) and economic health and quality of life (40%). Each market is ranked on a scale of 0 to 100 according to the category indicators, and the overall result is based on the weighted sum of these rankings. The real estate market category indicators are: real estate demand (15%), based on average pageviews per property; real estate supply (15%), based on median days on market for real estate listings; median listing price trend (10%), based on annual price growth over the quarter; property taxes (10%); and climate risk to properties (10%). The economic and quality of life category indicators are: unemployment (5%); wages (5%); regional price parities (5%); the share of foreign born (5%); small businesses (5%); amenities (10%), measured as the average number of stores per specific “everyday splurge” category (coffee, upscale/specialty grocery, home improvement, fitness) per capita in an area; and commute time (5%).