More Buyers Seeking Affordability Are Willing to Relocate

The percentage of Redfin home searchers looking to relocate from their current city reached an all time high during the third quarter.

Among 1 million Redfin.com visitors searching for homes in 87 metro markets, 26% were looking in another city, up from 25% during the comparable 2018 quarter. New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. were the locations Redfin users were most often looking to leave while Boston, Sacramento, Calif., and Phoenix, Ariz., were the top destinations people were looking to move to.

Boston being on that list is unusual as other markets have more affordable housing but Bean Town is relatively inexpensive compared with New York City, from which it is drawing the most looks on Redfin.

“There is a sense here in New York that the sky has been falling for our housing market all year,” said Redfin New York market manager Nick Boniakowski. “People fleeing NYC aren’t looking for a rural life, they are fleeing the high costs. Boston presents a slightly more accessible cost of living, while still providing urban quality of life that many desire today. Boston is appealing because it’s close and there are similar employment opportunities.”

To see the top 10 lists of cities drawing the most inflow of Redfin traffic and destinations with the most outflow …

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