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Miami is the Most Popular U.S. Migration Destination for the 4th Straight Month

Homebuyer interest in moving to a new metro area remains elevated above pre-pandemic levels, with roughly 30% of Redfin.com users looking to relocate

SEATTLE, Dec. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — Nationwide, 30.3% of Redfin.com users looked to move to a different metro area in October and November, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's down from a record-high 31.5% in the first quarter of 2021 but well above pre-pandemic levels. 

Homebuyer interest in relocating to a different part of the country accelerated as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the first half of 2020 and reached its peak at the beginning of this year before declining slightly and leveling out. Redfin.com users are showing significantly more interest in relocating than before the pandemic, when levels stood at 25% to 26%. 

"At the beginning of the pandemic, remote work gave homebuyers the opportunity to consider a new location," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "Now the labor market is incredibly tight, which means even homebuyers with in-person occupations can move somewhere new and be confident they can secure employment in their new town."

Influx of homebuyers into South Florida continues 

Miami was the most popular migration destination of any major U.S. metro for the fourth month in a row. Next come Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento and Tampa. Two other Florida metros also appear on the top 10, with Cape Coral taking the number seven spot and North Port coming in 10th. The popularity of migration destinations is determined by net inflow, a measure of how many more Redfin.com home searchers looked to move into a metro than leave. 

Florida has become a particularly popular destination this year as remote workers and retirees flock to the state in search of beaches, warm weather, low taxes and more affordable housing than big cities on the East Coast or West Coast. Net inflow into Miami has nearly tripled since this time last year, and net inflow into Tampa has nearly doubled, with New York as the number-one origin for Redfin.com users moving to both areas.

"More than half of my active clients are either investors or people who are relocating, coming from places like California, Oregon, New York and New Jersey," said Miami Redfin agent Cristina Llanos. "The relocators tend to be young remote workers who are moving to Miami for the affordability and sunshine. One client said they're coming to Miami because they hate the snow; another wants to raise their kids in an ethnically diverse city."

Table: Top 10 Metros by Net Inflow of Users and Their Top Origins

Rank

Metro*

Net Inflow,
October &
November
2021

Net Inflow,
October &
November
2020

Portion of
Searches from
Users Outside the
Metro, October
& November
2021

Portion of
Searches from
Users Outside the
Metro, October
& November
2020

Top Origin

Top Out-
of-State
Origin

 

1

Miami, FL

9,376

3,170

32.0%

26.4%

New York, NY

New York, NY

2

Phoenix, AZ

8,683

7,664

35.4%

36.2%

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA

3

Las Vegas, NV

6,610

7,819

42.5%

52.1%

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA

4

Sacramento, CA

6,403

7,945

40.8%

49.1%

San Francisco, CA

Seattle, WA

5

Tampa, FL

6,011

3,950

45.8%

56.4%

Orlando, FL

New York, NY

6

Dallas, TX

5,103

5,955

25.3%

31.4%

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA

7

Cape Coral, FL

4,366

3,154

67.1%

75.1%

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

8

San Antonio, TX

4,345

2,265

42.9%

44.0%

Houston, TX

Los Angeles, CA

9

Atlanta, GA

4,164

6,459

20.0%

26.7%

New York, NY

New York, NY

10

North Port, FL

4,044

2,211

65.2%

77.1%

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

 

*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in Q4 2021

†Negative values indicate a net outflow; among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

 

Homebuyers are leaving big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York 

San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and Seattle top the list of places Redfin.com users looked to leave in October and November. That's according to net outflow, a measure of how many more Redfin.com home searchers looked to leave a metro than move in. 

Big, expensive coastal cities typically top the list of places Redfin.com users are looking to leave, a trend that has accelerated with the pandemic and remote-work options. Many big-city dwellers with white-collar jobs are able to work remotely from more affordable locations with a lot of recreational opportunities. 

Table: Top 10 Metros by Net Outflow of Users and Their Top Destinations

Rank

Metro*

Net Outflow,
October &
November
2021

Net Outflow,
October
& November
2020

Portion of
Local Users
Searching
Elsewhere,
October &
November
2021

Portion of
Local Users
Searching
Elsewhere,
October &
November
2020

Top
Destination

Top Out-
of-State
Destination

1

San Francisco, CA

41,407

33,710

22.9%

24.0%

Sacramento, CA

Seattle, WA

2

Los Angeles, CA

33,889

20,879

19.2%

18.0%

San Diego, CA

Phoenix, AZ

3

New York, NY

23,320

37,447

26.7%

35.2%

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, PA

4

Washington, DC

15,805

10,282

14.7%

12.9%

Salisbury, MD

Salisbury, MD

5

Seattle, WA

13,128

2,528

16.3%

14.1%

Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

6

Boston, MA

7,815

312

15.9%

12.2%

Portland, ME

Portland, ME

7

Chicago, IL

5,678

5,819

12.5%

12.3%

Cape Coral, FL

Cape Coral, FL

8

Denver, CO

2,675

4,433

25.6%

27.7%

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

9

Minneapolis, MN

1,518

-977

22.2%

18.2%

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

10

Detroit, MI

1,313

710

23.8%

22.6%

Grand Rapids, MI

Chicago, IL

 

*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in Q4 2021

†Among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

 

To read the full report, including charts and additional metro-level highlights, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/november-2021-housing-migration-trends/  

About Redfin 
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, instant home-buying (iBuying), rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 6,000 people.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

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