The percentage of Redfin.com users who investigated moving to a different metropolitan area between January and February rose from 26.1 percent in 2020 to 31.2 percent in 2021, according to a recent Redfin report. That’s the highest share of users since Redfin started collecting data in 2017.
The pandemic has spurred a rush to relocate, with remote work allowing homebuyers more freedom in choosing where to live. That may continue after the pandemic slows, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said.
“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,” Fairweather said in a release. “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 most popular destinations for relocators were Phoenix; Austin, Texas; Las Vegas; Dallas, and Miami, according to the report.
“More and more people are moving into Phoenix. The trend is only becoming more intense,” Redfin agent Thomas Wiederstein said. “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.”
Wiederstein said out-of-town buyers often make strong offers because they have more cash on hand, which makes it difficult for local buyers to compete.
The top cities with people looking to leave included New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. Los Angeles topped the list of cities who had people moving to Phoenix, Las Vegas and Dallas, and San Francisco was the top origin spot for those moving to Austin, according to the report.