The share of homebuyers looking to relocate to a new locale surged in July, according to a report released Thursday.
A record-high 33.7 percent of Redfin users sought to move from one metropolitan area to another in July. During the second quarter of 2022 that number hovered at 32.6 percent and clocked in at 26 percent before the beginning of the pandemic, according to a report from Redfin.
The increase comes as sky-high home prices and mortgage rates force more homebuyers to set their sights on more affordable areas where their dollar goes further.
Even as the housing market cools and inventory climbs, high mortgage rates combined with the possibilities afforded by remote work are encouraging more buyers than ever to pull up stakes, the report claims.
Miami’s popularity among buyers seeking to relocate remained the most popular destination in July. Migration into the south Florida metro is starting to slow, however, with fewer homebuyers looking to move there than there were at the same time last year as the surge in demand combined with high interest rates caused housing prices to skyrocket throughout Miami.
Net inflow into Miami was 6,704 during July 2022, compared to 7,583 during July 2021, according to Redfin.
Sacramento followed Miami as the second most popular relocation destination of July, but like Miami migration to the California capital has slowed, with a net inflow of 6,550 during July 2022 compared to 6,806 during July 2021.
San Diego followed Sacramento but had the opposite trajectory in annual growth. Inflow into the southern California metro jumped from just 2,868 last July to 5,689 in July 2022, with Los Angeles the most common in-state origin and Seattle listed as the most common out-of-state origin, according to Redfin.
“We’ve always had a lot of people from the Bay Area and Los Angeles move to San Diego for a better work-life balance and a beachside lifestyle, and it has picked up since remote work became commonplace,” San Diego Redfin agent Jodie Lee said in a statement. “This year, I’ve also seen quite a few remote workers move in from places like Seattle and North Carolina because they like the sunny weather and outdoor activities in this area. San Diego also has a big military presence, and more service members are relocating here now that the cooling market means they have a better chance of getting an offer with a VA loan accepted.”
The report found that movement out of expensive coastal metros has continued but at a slower pace in some areas. While outflow out of both Los Angeles and New York increased, the San Francisco area saw its outflow decrease, while remaining the number one area where Americans were relocating from according to Redfin.
The report was conducted by analyzing the data of two million Redfin users who searched for homes across over 100 metro areas in July. To be included in the dataset, users must have viewed at least 10 homes in a given area and homes in that area must have made up 80 percent of the users searches.
