Check out some of the hottest real estate markets in the USA.

The city of Gainesville in Georgia has become the most popular real estate market in the country, as more and more renters are leaving expensive cities in search of affordable housing in more attractive locations. This is according to a new analysis by Bankrate, which examined around 200 housing markets across the country. The personal finance website ranked the most appealing and active real estate markets and found that Gainesville, Georgia, took the top spot. The ranking was based on factors such as the highest job growth, rapid population growth, the largest increase in home values, the lowest unemployment rate, and the highest percentage of homes offered for sale.

Top 5 real estate markets:

• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Fort Myers, Florida
• Sarasota, Florida
• Charlotte, North Carolina

These cities have become particularly attractive to homebuyers who cannot afford expensive metro areas, said Bankrate analyst Jeff Ostrowski.

Bankrate noted that Gainesville ranked first because housing prices in the area increased by 40% over the year, which is higher than in any other location analyzed. According to Bankrate, the number of jobs and the population in the city grew by 15%, citing data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. Department of Labor.

The cost of housing in Gainesville remains relatively affordable.

The shortage of supply in the real estate market, rising prices, and increasing mortgage interest rates this year have reduced sales volumes in the spring. High prices have created "a very distorted real estate market," which is not helping either buyers or sellers, said economist Peter Bookvar. "As a result, existing home sales are at levels close to a 12-year low, due to both the lack of supply and a 40% increase in home prices over the past few years," Bookvar said in a research note. "With mortgage interest rates doubling, this creates affordability issues for first-time homebuyers."

In Fort Myers, real estate sales are thriving, particularly because people from Boston, Chicago, Miami, and New York are moving in search of more affordable options, said Mike Darda, head of the team at leading real estate brokerage Compass. The average home sale price in Fort Myers is $395,000, according to Redfin.

Sarasota, meanwhile, has become an attractive market as more people move there and compete for housing in newly built waterfront condominiums, said a local real estate expert. "The increase and steady flow of tourists is driving this growth, with the highest demand for real estate coming from pre-retirees looking for a second home and retirees moving to Sarasota for permanent residence," said Chelsa Vachtomin, senior sales executive at Coldwell Banker, CBS MoneyWatch.