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A Record 31% of Redfin.com Users Look to Relocate as Homebuyer Interest in Affordable Areas Intensifies

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Phoenix is the most popular destination for Redfin.com users looking to move away from expensive coastal cities. Some out-of-town buyers are shifting their search from Texas to Arizona after recent winter storms.

Seattle, WA –  March 25, 2021 (PRNewswire) — (NASDAQ: RDFN) — Nationwide, 31.2% of Redfin.com users looked to move to a different metro in January and February, up from 26.1% during the same time period last year, according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. This is the highest share since Redfin started tracking migration in 2017.

The share of Redfin.com users searching for homes outside their metro has steadily increased since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with remote work allowing homebuyers to prioritize affordability and living near family and friends. For many buyers, that means they now have the freedom to relocate to a different part of the country.

“Migration is on the upswing even as vaccines roll out, signaling that the rise in moving from one part of the country to another is likely to outlast the pandemic,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Although some coronavirus-driven moves will be temporary as people return to the office or go back to living alone after staying with their families, for many Americans one long-lasting effect of the pandemic and remote work is the freedom to live where they want to live.”

The latest migration analysis is based on a sample of more than 2 million Redfin.com users who searched for homes across 87 metro areas in January and February, excluding searches unlikely to precede an actual relocation or home purchase.

The uptick in migration is driven by homebuyers moving to Phoenix, Austin and Las Vegas

Phoenix, Austin, Las Vegas, Dallas and Miami had the biggest net inflows of Redfin.com users of any major metro in the U.S. in January and February, meaning they were the most popular destinations for people looking to move to a different area. A net inflow is a measure of how many more Redfin.com home searchers looked to move into a metro than leave, out of a sample of 2 million users.

Affordable inland destinations and parts of Florida are typically the most popular destinations for migrants, a trend that has accelerated during the pandemic. The net inflow of Redfin.com users searching for a home from out of town has increased significantly from last year in all of the top 10 destinations.

“More and more people are moving into Phoenix; the trend is only becoming more intense,” said local Redfin agent Thomas Wiederstein. “More than half of my buyers are coming from out of state, mostly from California. And with the recent winter storms in places like Dallas, several of my newer clients are out-of-state buyers who have shifted their home search from Texas to Arizona. Buyers from other states tend to make stronger offers because they have more cash on hand, and that makes it extremely difficult for locals to compete.”

Los Angeles is the top origin for people moving to Phoenix, Las Vegas and Dallas, while San Francisco is the top origin for those relocating to Austin. The typical home in Los Angeles sold for $745,000 in February, and the typical home in San Francisco sold for $1.4 million. Meanwhile, the typical home in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Dallas sells for less than $350,000.

Top 10 Metros by Net Inflow of Users and Their Top Origins
RankMetro*Net Inflow,
January and
February
2021		Net Inflow,
January and
February
2020		Portion of
Searches
from Users
Outside the
Metro,
January and
February
2021		Portion of
Searches
from Users
Outside the
Metro,
January and
February
2020		Top OriginTop Out-of-
State Origin 
1Phoenix, AZ10,4717,31938.9%35.7%Los Angeles,
CA		Los Angeles,
CA
2Austin, TX9,5643,94143.6%32.6%San
Francisco,
CA		San
Francisco,
CA
3Las Vegas,
NV		9,0565,70653.1%47.9%Los Angeles,
CA		Los Angeles,
CA
4Dallas, TX7,8013,54533.3%26.3%Los Angeles,
CA		Los Angeles,
CA
5Miami, FL7,4872,39932.0%26.6%New York, NYNew York,
NY
6Atlanta, GA7,4155,11326.8%26.8%New York, NYNew York,
NY
7Sacramento,
CA		7,4144,86148.3%44.4%San
Francisco,
CA		Reno, NV
8Tampa, FL6,0183,18660.3%56.0%Orlando, FLNew York,
NY
9Cape Coral,
FL		5,5752,07877.0%74.4%Chicago, ILChicago, IL
10Orlando, FL4,8241,98258.5%52.1%New York,
NY		New York,
NY 
*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in January and February 2021†Negative values indicate a net outflow; among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

Homebuyers are leaving New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles for areas that are relatively close–but more affordable

New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Seattle top the list of places Redfin.com users are looking to leave, with the biggest net outflows of Redfin.com users in January and February. A net outflow is a measure of how many more Redfin.com home searchers looked to leave a metro than move in, out of a sample of 2 million users.

Expensive coastal cities typically have the highest net outflows, with more and more homebuyers looking to leave those places since the pandemic began a year ago. The net outflow of Redfin.com users from New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles has increased significantly from a year ago, and it has more than doubled in Washington, D.C. and Seattle.

For Redfin.com users who leave New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, the most popular destinations are nearby metro areas with comparatively affordable housing. Philadelphia, where the typical home sold for $238,000 in February, is the most popular destination for people leaving the New York metro, where the typical home in the metro sold for $590,000. People leaving San Francisco are most likely to search for homes in Sacramento, where the typical home sold for $490,000 in February, and people leaving Los Angeles are most likely to go to San Diego, where the typical home sold for $685,000.

Top 10 Metros by Net Outflow of Users and Their Top Destinations
RankMetro*Net Outflow,
January and
February
2021		Net Outflow,
January and
February
2020		Portion of
Local Users
Searching
Elsewhere,
January and
February
2021		Portion of
Local Users
Searching
Elsewhere,
January and
February
2020		Top
Destination		Top Out-of-
State
Destination 
1New York,
NY		37,89426,71434.7%36.3%Philadelphia,
PA		Philadelphia,
PA
2San
Francisco,
CA		35,44023,86824.1%21.7%Sacramento,
CA		Austin, TX
3Los Angeles,
CA		23,47313,91318.5%16.4%San Diego,
CA		Las Vegas,
NV
4Washington,
DC		14,1906,44614.7%11.6%Salisbury,
MD		Salisbury,
MD
5Seattle, WA8,4453,35716.4%13.1%Phoenix, AZPhoenix, AZ
6Chicago, IL7,7753,79713.7%10.4%Cape Coral,
FL		Cape Coral,
FL
7Denver, CO6,2422,97929.9%23.6%Seattle, WASeattle, WA
8Boston, MA3,75117814.9%11.5%Portland, MEPortland, ME
9Milwaukee,
WI		2,2961,03142.6%38.6%Chicago, ILChicago, IL
10Indianapolis,
IN		1,89153542.3%33.1%Chicago, ILChicago, IL 
*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in January and February 2021†Among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

To read the full report, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/february-2021-housing-migration-trends.

Source: Redfin

Homebuyer Interest in Vacation Towns and Suburbs Has Soared Since the Pandemic

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Remote workers seeking space for offices and a simpler lifestyle are searching for homes in places like Lake Tahoe, Santa Cruz and Cape Cod. Meanwhile, big cities like New York are cooling down.

Seattle, WA – March 10, 2021 (PRNewswire) — (NASDAQ: RDFN) — Housing markets in vacation destinations and relatively affordable suburbs of big cities have heated up more than any other area over the last year, a time period that starts with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Places like Lake Tahoe, Cape Cod, and suburbs of Chicago and New York City are gaining popularity as homebuyers take advantage of remote-work policies to prioritize affordability and personal preferences like proximity to nature and recreation over living near the office.

This is according to a Redfin analysis of the 10 U.S. housing markets that have heated up most over the past year, and the 10 that have cooled down most. Redfin’s ranking is based on year-over-year change in home prices, home sales, the share of homes that sold above their list price, the speed of home sales and Redfin.com searches.

Vacation towns and suburbs are heating up most

El Dorado County, CA—an area that spans from the eastern outskirts of Sacramento to the southern part of Lake Tahoe—is number one in Redfin’s ranking, with measures of homebuyer competition growing more than any other U.S. county over the last year. Home prices increased 36% year over year in January, and the median number of days on market fell 50 days from the year before.

“Parts of El Dorado County, like Lake Tahoe and the upscale community of El Dorado Hills, have been hot throughout the pandemic, partly thanks to remote work,” said local Redfin agent Ellie Ruiz Hitchcock. “About half of buyers in El Dorado Hills are coming from the Bay Area and half are locals, including people coming from neighboring Sacramento, who are upgrading their homes. Tech workers moving out of Silicon Valley are seeking larger homes, more overall space and simpler lifestyle at a fraction of the cost. Most homes in the area are receiving multiple offers.”

U.S. counties that have heated up the most (January 2020 to January 2021)

RankU.S. countyParent metro area Median sale priceMedian sale price, YoY changeMedian days on marketMedian days on market, YoY change (in days)Share of homes that sold above list priceNet inflow of Redfin.com users searching in the area
1El Dorado County, CA (Lake Tahoe)Sacramento, CA$592,50036%25-5037.4%2199
2Santa Cruz County, CASanta Cruz, CA$1,000,00018%38-5049.7%720
3Deschutes County, OR (Bend)Bend, OR$509,45024%8-6643%1818
4Kendall County, ILElgin, IL$274,50022%16-5431.8%365
5Barnstable County, MA (Cape Cod)Barnstable Town, MA$514,87531%24-4636.7%1953
6Charles County, MDWashington, DC$350,00021%25-3844.4%810
7Burlington County, NJCamden, NJ$264,00023%32-3437.6%299
8Frederick County, MDFrederick, MD$375,00019%27-2739.5%1188
9Ocean County, NJ (Jersey Shore)New Brunswick, NJ$339,95031%34-4036.3%683
10Orange County, NYPoughkeepsie, NY$344,95029%46-2940.7%1191

Expensive East Coast job centers are cooling down 

Arlington County, VA, home of Amazon’s second headquarters in Crystal City, is ranked number one on the list of housing markets that cooled down most from January 2020 to January 2021. But the housing market is so hot throughout most of the country that even in the market cooling most, prices are up 4% from last year, and 23% of homes are selling above list price.

That’s an about-face from late 2018, 2019 and early 2020, when homebuyer interest in the areas surrounding Crystal City skyrocketed after Amazon’s HQ2 announcement. But with the surge in remote work over the past year, living close to the office isn’t as important as it once was and housing markets in expensive job centers are suffering. The cooldown in Arlington County is particularly drastic because it was skyrocketing a year ago, just before the onset of the pandemic. It’s also worth noting that Charles County, MD and Frederick County, MD, both part of the Washington, D.C. metro and home to farther-flung D.C. suburbs, are both on the list of places heating up most.

To view the full report, including charts and methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/hot-housing-market-pandemic-vacation-towns-suburbs/

SOURCE: Redfin