U.S. Housing Slowdown Is Hitting Local Movers Harder Than Out-of-Town Buyers

Florida is the most popular state in the U.S. for relocation, according to Redfin. UNSPLASH

Out-of-town moves dropped 6% year over year in April in the U.S. as economic uncertainty and relatively high mortgage rates kept buyers on the sidelines, according to a Redfin report Friday. It’s the largest decline on record.

“That’s a big swing from a year ago at the tail end of the pandemic home-buying boom, when the number of home buyers looking to relocate rose 23%,” the report said.

San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles topped the list of metro areas people moved from in April, the report said.

Still, relocations fell less dramatically than local moves, which were down 17% compared to a year ago, the figures showed. It’s also the biggest drop in Redfin’s records, which go back through 2018.

“To put the trend another way, the overall home-buying pie is smaller than it was a year ago—but Americans moving to a new metro make up a bigger piece of that pie than ever before,” the report said.

About one-quarter—25.2%—of Redfin.com users looked to relocate last month, another record. That’s up from 22.8% in April 2022 and about 19% from just before the pandemic started.

Some folks looking to move to a new location are interested in a lower cost of living, but, of course, many are moving for “immutable” reasons such as a new job or to be close to ailing family members, the report noted. On the other hand, in-town moves may be delayed if buyers are “simply looking for more space or a different layout.”

Last month’s most-popular destinations were Phoenix and Miami followed by Las Vegas, Tampa, Florida, and Orlando, Florida, the data showed.

Nearly all are in the Sun Belt, and Florida is the most-popular state for relocation, with five of the top 10 cities located in the Sunshine State. Popularity is determined by net inflow, a measure of how many more people looked to move into an area than leave.

Via Mansion Global