A record number of people are wanting to move to another part of the country, according to a new report from Redfin, and many of them are targeting the Sun Belt.
The brokerage said that roughly one in five (19.1%) U.S. house hunters looked to move from one place to another part of the country to another in the first quarter.
That’s up slightly from 18.9% a year earlier and the highest share in records dating back to 2021, according to Redfin. Those Americans are looking to relocate partly because of affordability pressures.
Redfin noted that housing costs are near record highs because mortgage rates and sale prices remain persistently high, and inflation is pushing up the cost of living for other everyday expenses. That’s motivating people to move from expensive areas to more affordable areas, Redfin stated.
Orlando is Most Popular
Orlando, Florida, for example, is the most popular destination for relocating house hunters, Redfin said. The typical Orlando home costs just over $400,000, about half the cost of the typical home in New York, the most common origin for people moving there, Redfin noted.
Another factor is boomerang migration, the brokerage noted.
It said that some Americans are moving away from places they moved to during the pandemic. For example, roughly 1,700 more people left Charlotte, North Carolina than moved in during the first quarter, compared to a net inflow of about 3,200 five years earlier.
Austin, Texas lost about 300 more residents than it gained during the first quarter, compared to a net inflow of 14,000 five years earlier, Redfin reported.
While the share of house hunters wanting to relocate has risen to a record high, that doesn’t mean the number of relocators is at a record high, Redfin noted. Overall homebuying activity is sluggish, so the total number of migrants is likely lower than it was back in 2021 or 2022, when a smaller share of a larger pool of buyers was looking to relocate, Redfin said.
Florida’s Attraction
Orlando was the most popular destination for relocating house hunters in the first quarter, followed by three other Florida metros: North Port, Miami and Cape Coral. Tampa was sixth, after Las Vegas.
Florida Redfin agents said that the state always has attracted a lot of people from the north, especially retirees, who move in for the warm weather and beachy lifestyle. More recently, they say there has been an uptick in people moving to Florida for job opportunities.
Redfin said the state’s “Space Coast,” for example, is home to outposts of companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin that attract a lot of engineers and other tech workers from places like Seattle and California.
