More American home searchers are looking to relocate to another metropolitan area than ever, according to the latest quarterly migration report by Redfin.
Redfin started keeping track of the share of home searchers seeking homes in new metros since 2017, and in the fourth quarter of 2018, the share of these shoppers hit the highest level recorded, 25 percent. Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. had the highest net outflow in the study, meaning that they had the most residents seeking to move out.
A year ago, we thought Seattle might have passed its peak as a migration destination when it posted a net outflow for the first time at the end of 2017. That trend stuck for just one more quarter before reversing, with Seattle posting a net inflow again in the second quarter of 2018. Since then, Seattle’s net inflow has surged to make it the fifth-most popular migration destination in the fourth quarter, behind nearby Portland and the relatively affordable metros–Sacramento, Phoenix and Atlanta–that have long dominated this list.