Brighton has the hottest housing market in America, according to Realtor.com.

And it is one of the few communities that is seeing higher sales this year than in 2021.

The annual Hottest Zip Codes report consistently ranks the Rochester area among its top markets. The past two years, it’s been the west side of Irondequoit.

Such standards are numerous, but are reported at the national level.

“It lets people know that Rochester is a market that makes sense to buy,” said Lanny Bittner, president of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors.

But the market as a whole, here and across the country, is changing.

“It’s different a month ago than it was two months ago,” Bittner said.

Sales in Monroe County are down 10%, year-to-date. 7% in the Finger Lakes region, records show. Home sales have fallen nationally for six straight months. But prices will continue to rise.

“Affordability in terms of housing appeals to people across the country,” Bittner said. “Nationally, the average price of a house is at least $100,000 more than the Brighton market. And that’s incredibly affordable.”

This last ranking was based on the number of unique online viewers of a property and the average number of days the listing remained active in the first half of the year.

Source: Realtor.com

Still, “everything listed had strong demand, lots of showings, lots of discounts (and) sales above list price, we’ve surpassed last year’s gains,” Bittner said. “That stopped a little.”

This is especially true for homes priced over half a million dollars.

Overall, she continued, “Buyers … have gone from, ‘OK, I’ve got to buy a house so I’ve got to get whatever,’ to ‘OK, I want to go to something.’ It’s ready.”

And while the market may not be in the red, that doesn’t mean sellers have missed the window. Siad Bittner: “I’m not going to tell anyone that it’s too late because it really depends on the house.”

Homes in good condition, well maintained, with updates are still attracting high prices and selling quickly.