Pandemic-Driven Migration Has Decreased, but These Destinations Are Still Popular

This past November marked the third straight month in which the share of U.S. homebuyers searching for homes in a different metro area declined, decreasing to 23.9%, the lowest share in 18 months, according to Redfin. This is the first annual decline in Redfin’s records and is a drop from summer 2023's record high of 26%. To determines a metro's popularity, the report looked at an area's net inflow—a measure of how many more Redfin.com users looked to move into an area than to leave it. 

Redfin's latest ranking of the top 10 migration destinations saw Spokane, Wash., come in at No. 10, joining the list for the first time. Affordability was the draw: A typical home in Spokane costs $416,000, compared with Seattle, where the average home sells for $775,000. Topping Redfin's list were Sacramento, Calif., in the No. 1 spot, followed by Las Vegas and North Port, Fla., in the second and third spots, respectively.

The portion of house hunters who are relocating to a new area is coming down for a few reasons. One, there’s less flexibility to work remotely as employers call workers back to the office. That means the flow of homebuyers moving from the Bay Area to Austin, TX or Boise, ID, for example, has slowed. Two, home prices generally increased more in popular migration destinations than they did in expensive coastal metros during the pandemic, making the case for moving a bit less compelling. For example, prices in Sacramento–the most popular destination this month–are up about 35% since before the pandemic, compared with an 8% increase in the Bay Area. 

Still, the migration rate remains above pre-pandemic levels of around 19% as some Americans are still chasing affordability. All 10 of the most popular migration destinations have lower prices than the most common origin of buyers moving in. 

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