Where the Buyers Are (Moving To and Leaving)

It may not be an exodus but there is a growing migration from expensive coastal cities to more affordable real estate markets inland thanks to the work-at-home culture due to the coronavirus.

“People who can work remotely are re-examining where they want to live, and for most of them that means they’re looking at places that are less expensive,” said Veronica Clyatt, a Redfin agent in Pleasanton, CA, located about 40 miles east of San Francisco. “I’ve had buyers drop out of their search in the Bay Area because they’re moving to Sacramento or Texas, and I’ve had people moving over to Pleasanton because it’s less expensive than San Francisco. Everyone wants a bigger house and a bigger yard, and they want to pay less. A lot of people moving away from the Bay Area have had it in the pipeline for awhile, and remote work is accelerating the process.”

Sacramento has overtaken Phoenix as the most popular destination for homebuyers looking to move to a different metro area. Sacramento, Phoenix and Las Vegas—all places with a median home price of under $475,000—are perennial hotspots for migrants. Austin and Atlanta round out the top five in terms of net inflow, as they did in the second quarter. A net inflow means more people are looking to move in than leave, and a net outflow means more people are looking to leave than move in.

To see the top 10 cities with net inflow and outflow and where those buyers are coming from and going to …

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