The search is on...
Location, location, location. That's what many cite as the most important factor when selling real estate.
Realtor.com combed through its data over the past year to compile a list of the neighborhoods that were most searched for by visitors to its website. While this ranking does not take into account whether these visitors bought in these areas—or anywhere else, for that matter—it's a good way to gauge which neighborhoods and areas are hot.
The list considered ZIP codes that had a minimum of 5,000 listings, and it singled out the 10 areas that attracted the most unique visitors to Realtor.com on desktop only, excluding mobile and web apps.
Click ahead to see the most-searched cities.
—By Colleen Kane
Posted 26 Dec. 2014
10. Columbus, Ohio
Median house price: $298,000
The tenth most-searched ZIP code in 2014 encompasses Columbus, Ohio's Grandview Heights neighborhood, a historic urban area with a younger, hipper crowd, as well as parts of historic Upper Arlington with its desirable school district, many green areas and more suburban feel. It also includes part of Marble Cliff to the west, and the northeastern corner of the ZIP is close to the Ohio State University campus.
The pictured 4,773-square-foot home in Grandview Heights' Stonegate Village is priced at $1.1 million and has three bedrooms plus 3½ bathrooms.
9. Chicago
Median house price: $398,000
The ninth most searched ZIP code this year encompasses the Northwest Chicago community areas of Jefferson Park and Forest Glen. It's easy to see why, when Jefferson Park is a transportation hub, and much of the ZIP code is taken up by green and wooded spaces, including parks, two cemeteries and several golf courses.
The pictured 3,772-square-foot home in Edgebrook Glen is a new construction and is priced at $549,975. It has four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms.
8. San Diego
Median house price: $974,000
The eighth most searched ZIP code of 2014 covers the majority of San Diego's Point Loma peninsula, including Loma Portal, Roseville-Fleet Ridge, Wooded Area, La Playa and the Point Loma neighborhoods. Anyone moving to Point Loma might wish to take advantage of its yachting or deep-sea fishing, and won't be far from its two military bases, a national monument, a national cemetery and the Historic Old Point Loma Lighthouse.
The pictured 2,299-square-foot mid-century modern home is priced near San Diego's median—the highest median house price in this ranking—at $1.05 million and has four bedrooms and three baths.
7. Raleigh, North Carolina
Median house price: $268,000
Raleigh's Umstead neighborhood boasts the hiking, boating, and camping of William B. Umstead State Park and the convenience of Raleigh-Durham International Airport, both within the ZIP code.
The pictured 2,200-square-foot home with three bedrooms and three baths was priced near the median at $260,000 and recently sold for an undisclosed amount.
6. Fort Wayne, Indiana
Median house price: $146,000
Coming in at number six is the northern Fort Wayne, Indiana, ZIP code encompassing the Woodmont subdivision and Pine Valley area, including the Pine Valley Country Club.
The pictured 1,510-square-foot brick ranch home in Lakes of Brooks Crossing is priced near the median—the lowest median house price in this ranking—at $162,000. It has three bedrooms and two baths.
5. Savannah, Georgia
Median house price: $284,000
Number five in the ranking is the section of Savannah, Georgia, that stretches north from Midtown to the Historic District by the Savannah River and includes the Thomas Square Streetcar Historic District as well as the neighborhoods of Kayton-Frazier, Eastside and Metropolitan. Attractions in this area include historic homes as well as the Savannah History Museum.
The pictured 1,440-square-foot home in the Thomas Square Historic District is priced near the median at $249,000 and has three bedrooms plus 2½ bath rooms.
4. Fort Worth, Texas
Median house price: $380,000
This very popular part of Fort Worth is a southwestern slice of pie formed by the I-820 loop, which includes Tanglewood, Foster Park, Overton Woods, Westcliff, Westcliff West, not to mention the Fort Worth Zoo.
The pictured 7,649-square-foot home in Tanglewood is priced at nearly $2.7 million and has five bedrooms plus 5½ bathrooms.
3. New Orleans
Median house price: $398,000
Located just east of Metairie and stretching south from the edge of Lake Pontchartrain, this ZIP code includes the neighborhoods of Lakeview, Lakewood, West End and Navarre. A significant portion of this ZIP code is beautifully occupied by the New Orleans City Park, where sprawling live oaks are draped in Spanish moss.
The pictured 3,300-square-foot two-story brick home in Lakeview is priced at $639,000 and has four bedrooms and three baths.
2. Las Vegas
Median house price: $380,000
This exclusive ZIP code of gated communities in the northwest corner of Las Vegas is just west of the master-planned community Summerlin. The dominant landscape feature is the Spring Mountains and the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area, with this ZIP representing development encroaching ever closer to the natural border.
The pictured 4,144-square-foot two-story stucco home is priced at $938,888 and has three bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms.
1. Orlando, Florida
Median house price: $276,000
This ZIP code in central Orlando encompasses the areas of the Central Business District, Lake Eola Heights with its titular Lake Eola, Lawsona-Fern Creek, Lake Davis-Greenwood, Lake Cherokee, Thornton Park District, as well as Greenwood Cemetery and numerous other lakes.
A 2,158-square-foot corner unit in the pictured building is priced at $775,000 and has three bedrooms and three baths.