While increasing home prices and high mortgage rates have troubled the country’s housing market for a while, real estate values have remained relatively affordable in certain areas, transforming them into hot spots for new buyers. One such place is Gahanna, Ohio, which was just named “the hottest ZIP code in the country” by Realtor.com.

The Columbus, Ohio, suburb is at the top of the ranking for a second year in a row, followed by Ballwin near St. Louis, Missouri, and Salem, Massachusetts. Communities offering lower cost of living and affordable housing near large urban areas in the Midwest and Northeast dominate this year’s top spots.

“Although mortgage rate relief is starting to materialize, this year’s hottest ZIPs reflect the focus on affordability that home shoppers have had over the last few years in the face of high housing costs. Concentrated in larger metros across the Northeast and Midwest, these top 10 ZIPs attracted highly qualified home buyers seeking more space without relinquishing proximity to urban amenities,” Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist, said in a press release provided to Travel + Leisure.

The median listing value in Gahanna (43230), a town of about 35,000 in Franklin Country, northeast of Columbus, is $345,000. And homes stay on the market, on average, for 11 days.

The town is known as the “Herb Capital of Ohio” and it even has an official Herbal Cocktail Trail. It also boasts over 750 acres of parks, green spaces, and trails. According to U.S. Census data, the town’s median household income is $104,555. (Only two of the communities in the most sought-after ZIP codes had a median household income below the national average of $76,000.)

Realtor.com pointed out that affordability played the most significant role this year. In six of the 10 ZIP codes on the list, median home values are below the nation’s average, and two more markets are priced just 10 percent higher. Another draw is jobs. The unemployment rates at the top metro areas — Columbus, Ohio; St. Louis; Rochester, New York; Philadelphia; Chicago; and Springfield, Massachusetts — are also below the country’s average, which adds to these cities’ allure with new buyers. 

The most affordable market on the list is Rochester (14609), where the median home price is $165,000, while the priciest is Basking Ridge (07920) in New Jersey, with a median listing price of $995,000.

There are no ZIP codes in the South or West in this year’s ranking, as Realtor.com noted that “buyer interest has shifted away from the areas that are generally unaffordable or have become less affordable due to significant price growth during the pandemic.”

You can read the complete report on realtor.com.