The affordability crisis inLos Angeles is driving people out of the area in search for moreaffordable living options. In fact, Los Angeles had one of thehighest net migration losses in 2017, while the neighboringRiverside County had one of the highest net migration gains. Thispattern is largely attributed to the increasing housing costs inLos Angeles and other coastal markets. According to a recent reportfrom ATTOM Data Solutions, affordability hasdropped to the lowest level in a decade.

Migration patterns are one of the consequences of affordability.“We here a lot about it anecdotally,” DarenBlomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions,tells GlobeSt.com. “If you can't afford Los Angeles, you move toRiverside County, where it is more affordable. Or, you move toDallas. In the migration numbers, we see a clear connection betweenaffordability and migration patterns. Los Angeles County had one ofthe biggest net migration losses in 2017, after Cook County,Illinois. Riverside County, which is right next door, had one ofthe biggest increases of migration—the third highest in thecountry.”

Riverside County isn't the only market that is seeing growinginward migration. Denver, Grand Rapids and Dallas are also marketsthat have net migration gains as a result of affordabilityproblems. In fact, those three markets are now the least affordablemarkets in the country relative to their long-term averages. “Theyare not the highest priced markets in the country, but relative totheir historic affordability norms, they are the most out of sync,”explains Blomquist. “If you look at those markets, they have stronginward migration, especially Dallas. There are more people movingin than moving out, and many of them are coming from higher pricedmarkets. Psychologically, those people are willing to pay more andthey are used to paying more, or if they sold a house in a previousmarket, they may be coming flush with equity to put into a newhouse.”