Miami has once again topped the list of the most popular metros for movers.
A record 25% of Redfin.com users looked to move to another metro in January, with the most popular searches being Miami, Sacramento, and Las Vegas.
This is up from 24.5% in Q4 2022, 22.8% last year, and 18% before the pandemic.
Miami, which took first place back in August 2022, once again dominated with the highest net inflow of new migrants.
Interest in Miami may come as a surprise considering most movers are looking for affordable options in a high-rate environment. RealtyHop recently ranked Miami as the second most expensive place to live in the U.S., just below Los Angeles, and the typical Miami home sold for $470,000 in January, compared with the $383,000 national median.
But Redfin says people flocking there are coming from other high-cost cities like New York, where the average home sold for $650,000 last month.
“A lot of buyers have flocked into coastal Florida from out of town over the last several months,” said Elena Fleck, a Redfin agent in Palm Beach, Fla.
“Buyers moving in from places like New York and San Francisco are helping the local market recover from last fall’s housing downturn. They’re not nearly as fazed by high mortgage rates because homes here are so much less expensive than their hometowns, and they get larger lots, pools, nice weather, and lower taxes.”
Los Angeles also lost many buyers to more affordable metros like Dallas and Las Vegas.
The data also reflects a worrying trend in U.S. housing: as the cost of buying a home has risen, buyers now tend to be older, white, and wealthier.
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Troy Williamson, a senior loan officer at Cornerstone Home Lending, said that he is seeing the results of homebuyers flocking to the Sun Belt for warmer weather and a better quality of life. https://t.co/jJb5FseVyk
— The Mortgage Note (@TheMortgageNote) February 21, 2023
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