More Than 30% of Homebuyers Want to Move to a Different City

Some trends from the pandemic will stick. Others won’t. But it looks like people moving to more affordable parts of the country are falling into the former category. 

In a new report, Redfin says that 31.1% of its users looked to move to a different metro in the second quarter. That is an increase from 27.6% during the same period last year. However, it is slightly below the Q1 numbers.

“Some pandemic trends are here to stay, and moving to a more affordable part of the country is part of the new normal,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather in a prepared statement. “In fact, the Biden administration plans to make it easier for Americans to move to a new state by encouraging the FTC to ban certain occupational licensing restrictions. That would make it easier for a teacher, barber or electrician to move across state lines.”

The COVID-era migration has benefited perennially popular destinations. In Q2, the largest migrations were to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Miami and Tampa. The Redfin users who move are prioritizing affordable metros, such as Las Vegas. While prices in Sin City have risen 18.1% to $365,000 over the last year, the typical home still sells for less than half of the $828,000 median sale price in Los Angeles.

“Las Vegas is attractive for a lot of reasons: Homes are affordable, taxes are low, the weather is warm and now the tourism industry is revving back up, with hotels and casinos bustling once again,” said local Redfin agent Marco Di Pasqualucci in a prepared statement. “Remote workers and retirees are flocking to Las Vegas, especially from more expensive markets. If someone sells their expensive house in Seattle or Los Angeles, they can come here and buy a nice, spacious house for over asking price, sometimes even in cash. The market is competitive, but it’s not as tough for folks relocating from places like Seattle or Los Angeles who are planning to pay cash.”

While users are flocking to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami, they left New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, DC and Denver in the second quarter. Redfin says the number of homebuyers looking to leave those places was much higher in the second quarter than the same period a year ago.

Nearly 45% more Redfin.com users looked to leave the San Francisco Bay Area in the second quarter than a year earlier. Instead, many of those people ended up in Sacramento, where the typical home sold for $565,000 in June. In San Francisco, the typical home sold for nearly three times more in June ($1.59 million).