A Record Share of Homebuyers Are Relocating to Find Affordability

A record 32% of Redfin users expressed interest in moving away from their hometowns in the first quarter of 2022 as soaring home prices and rising mortgage rates make relocating to a more affordable market one of the only viable options for prospective buyers. San Francisco tops the list of the metro areas losing the largest share of residents as a nationwide affordability crisis persists, and other major cities like Los Angeles and New York also rank in the top three, Redfin reports.

Residents in the PNW region in cities like Seattle are heading out of state to more affordable metros like Phoenix, while those in Portland are relocating to Seattle, creating a consistent turnover of new arrivals and departures.

The number of homebuyers leaving the Seattle area has picked up significantly over the last two years, an apt example of how the pandemic is changing where people choose to live. The typical home in Seattle sold for $750,000 in February (up 15% year over year), making it the eighth-most expensive major metro in the U.S., behind only coastal California. Those soaring home prices, combined with a high concentration of tech jobs–which can typically be done remotely–have encouraged many Seattleites to seek more affordable, sunnier pastures.

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