A record percentage of U.S. home seekers considered leaving their metro home in the first quarter, according to Redfin research, and the data reveals which markets are still attracting movers and which are losing movers from pandemic boom cities.
Affordable housing is reshaping where Americans want to live, with record shares showing a willingness to move for it.
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. house hunters are considering moving to another metropolitan area in the first quarter of 2026, the highest rate on record through 2021, according to a new Redfin analysis.
Redfin found that 19.1 percent of its users searched for homes outside of their metro in the first quarter, up from 18.9 percent a year earlier. The company said pressure on home affordability was a key factor, with house prices near record highs and inflation pushing up everyday expenses.
Florida dominated the list of top destinations, accounting for four of the top six metro areas by net inflows. Orlando ranked first, followed by Northport, Miami and Cape Coral. Las Vegas ranked fifth and Tampa ranked sixth.
However, the data also reflect significant cooling. Miami’s net inflows fell from just over 28,000 in 2022 to 6,576 in the first quarter. Northport’s population fell from about 10,000 to about 7,000 over the same period.
Florida’s cooling reflects a broader trend. The Wall Street Journal found that working-age residents are leaving the state due to concerns about affordability, while the flow of new immigrants is slowing. Rising home prices, insurance premiums and inflation above the national average all contributed, the newspaper reported.
Redfin’s data shows a different, but related dynamic that the company calls boomerang migration. This shows that instead of people returning to their cities of origin, emerging cities are losing the gains they made between 2020 and 2022 due to the pandemic. Austin had a net outflow of about 300 people in the first quarter, up from a net inflow of 14,000 people five years ago. Charlotte, North Carolina, went from a net inflow of about 3,200 people to a net outflow of about 1,700 people during the same period.
New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles topped the list of metropolitan areas experiencing net population outflows. At the state level, California’s net outflow was roughly twice that of New York, the second-largest state.
Redfin noted that while return-to-office mandates have placed some restrictions on movement from expensive cities to Sunbelt markets, remote work continues to enable relocation.
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