These are the top 5 hottest real estate markets in the U.S.

A midsize town in Georgia about 75 minutes by car from Atlanta is the nation's hottest real estate market, as a tide of renters flee pricey cities in search of homes in more affordable places.

That's the takeaway from a new Bankrate analysis of nearly 200 housing markets around the country. The personal finance website ranked the top most attractive and active housing markets and found that Gainesville, Georgia, was No.1. Bankrate based its ranking on data-based factors such as which cities had the strongest job growth, fastest rising population, largest home value appreciation, lowest unemployment rate and fastest rate of homes for sale in the area being snatched up. 

While Gainesville took the top spot, Knoxville, Tennessee; Fort Myers, Florida; Sarasota, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina, rounded out the top five.