A significant share of homebuyers are still looking beyond their current metro areas when searching for a home, according to new data from Redfin.
Just under one in five homebuyers (18.8 percent) searched for homes in a different region of the country during the fourth quarter. That’s up slightly from 17.9 percent a year earlier and noticeably higher than the 15.9 percent share recorded five years ago.
In 2021, mortgage rates hovered just below 3 percent, and pandemic-driven remote work allowed many Americans to relocate. Even so, a larger share of house hunters are now searching outside their metro areas. Redfin economists say the difference is largely due to the inclusion of large metro areas in the analysis.
Sacramento and Las Vegas attract the most relocating buyers
Sacramento, California, and Las Vegas ranked as the most popular destinations for relocating homebuyers in the fourth quarter. The rankings are based on net inflow, a measure of how many more Redfin.com users searched for a place to move into a metro area than to leave it.
Four Florida metros followed close behind: Cape Coral, North Port, Miami and Orlando. All 10 of the top migration destinations are relatively affordable, particularly compared with the markets many buyers are leaving.
For example, Redfin notes that the typical home in Las Vegas sells for about $435,000, while the typical home in Los Angeles costs roughly twice as much. Many of the most popular destinations also share another draw: warm, sunny weather.
Escape from LA (and New York)
Los Angeles and New York topped the list of metros where homebuyers are leaving in the greatest numbers. The ranking is based on net outflow, which measures how many more Redfin.com users searched to leave a metro area than to move into it.
Three other major job centers followed: the Bay Area, Seattle and Chicago. Expensive coastal cities and large employment hubs frequently top the list of places people are moving away from, as buyers search for more affordable housing. Homebuyers leaving New York, for example, often look to Philadelphia, where the typical home costs less than half as much.
Florida remains a top draw
At the state level, Florida was the most popular destination for relocating homebuyers in the fourth quarter. Even though migration into several Florida metros has slowed, the Sunshine State still attracts roughly twice as many Redfin.com home searchers as South Carolina and Arizona, the second- and third-most popular destinations.
Nevada, Tennessee, Texas and North Carolina followed, continuing the trend of Sun Belt states drawing relocation interest. Idaho, Hawaii and Wisconsin rounded out the top 10.
California, meanwhile, remained the state people are leaving by the widest margin. That remains true even though fewer Bay Area residents are relocating to other U.S. metros than during the peak of the pandemic migration boom.
New York, Illinois, Washington and Massachusetts followed as the next most common states where homebuyers are leaving — all of them home to major job centers with relatively high housing costs.
