Sacramento Was the Most Popular Migration Destination in July, With More Than Half of Home Searches From Buyers Outside the Area

Rhea-AI Summary

In July 2020, 27.8% of users on Redfin.com sought to move to a different metro area, a rise from previous quarters. The pandemic has intensified migrations from costly coastal cities to affordable locations like Sacramento, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, with Sacramento now leading the trend. The migration report analyzed over 1.5 million searches, indicating significant net inflows to these areas. Despite low inventory, Las Vegas remains attractive due to no state income tax and affordable housing options. Conversely, coastal cities like New York and San Francisco are experiencing high outflows.

Positive

• 27.8% increase in Redfin.com users seeking out-of-metro moves in July 2020, indicating strong market demand.
• Sacramento surpasses Phoenix as the top destination for relocating homebuyers, highlighting shifting preferences.

Negative

• High net outflow from expensive coastal markets like New York and San Francisco, signaling potential long-term market challenges.

SEATTLE, Aug. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — 27.8% of all Redfin.com users looked to move to another metro area in July 2020, up from 27.4% in the second quarter and 25.2% in July 2019, according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

The work-from-home culture stemming from the coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating the trend of migration away from expensive coastal cities to more affordable inland areas that has been going on for at least five years.

"People who can work remotely are re-examining where they want to live, and for most of them that means they're looking at places that are less expensive," said Veronica Clyatt, a Redfin agent in Pleasanton, CA, located about 40 miles east of San Francisco. "I've had buyers drop out of their search in the Bay Area because they're moving to Sacramento or Texas, and I've had people moving over to Pleasanton because it's less expensive than San Francisco. Everyone wants a bigger house and a bigger yard, and they want to pay less. A lot of people moving away from the Bay Area have had it in the pipeline for awhile, and remote work is accelerating the process."

The latest migration analysis is based on a sample of more than 1.5 million Redfin.com users who searched for homes across 87 metro areas in the second quarter of 2020, excluding searches unlikely to precede an actual relocation or home purchase. To be included in this dataset, a Redfin.com user must have viewed at least 10 homes in a particular metro area, and homes in that area must make up at least 80% of the user's searches.

Sacramento, Phoenix and Las Vegas Are Still the Most Popular Destinations
Sacramento has overtaken Phoenix as the most popular destination for homebuyers looking to move to a different metro area. Sacramento, Phoenix and Las Vegas—all places with a median home price of under $475,000—are perennial hotspots for migrants. Austin and Atlanta round out the top five in terms of net inflow, as they did in the second quarter. A net inflow means more people are looking to move in than leave, and a net outflow means more people are looking to leave than move in.

"It's a feeding frenzy in Las Vegas right now, with low inventory and tons of interested buyers. We're seeing mass migration of people from other states moving into Nevada," said Las Vegas Redfin agent Marco Di Pasqualucci. "The lack of state income tax, warm climate and the relatively low cost of housing—you can buy a nice home for around $300,000—make Las Vegas an attractive place for people looking to move away from expensive areas."

Portland, OR was one of the 10 most popular destinations in July after dropping off the list in the second quarter, with nearly 20% of Redfin.com searches coming from buyers outside the metro area, up from 17% last year. San Francisco is the number one origin for buyers searching in Portland.

"There have been a lot more people moving from San Francisco to Portland," said Portland Redfin agent Nicole Arnold. "Most of them are working from home at tech jobs, and they're realizing they need and want more space. A house in Portland is about half the price as one in San Francisco. Buyers are selling their Bay Area homes and cashing out their equity to move here, where they're able to live a different lifestyle in a larger home."

Top 10 Metros by Net Inflow of Users and Their Top Origins
Rank	Metro*	Net Inflow†	Net Inflow LY	Portion of Searches from Users Outside the Metro (July 2020)	Portion of Searches from Users Outside the Metro (July 2019)	Top Origin	Top Out-of- State Origin
1	Sacramento, CA	8,070	4,497	50.6%	44.5%	San Francisco, CA	Reno, NV
2	Phoenix, AZ	4,997	4,137	35.1%	34.0%	Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA
3	Las Vegas, NV	4,739	3,715	49.0%	46.7%	Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA
4	Austin, TX	4,617	3,001	36.7%	33.5%	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
5	Atlanta, GA	4,207	3,537	25.8%	27.0%	New York, NY	New York, NY
6	Dallas, TX	3,586	2,155	28.9%	24.6%	Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA
7	Tampa, FL	2,794	2,011	55.9%	55.2%	Orlando, FL	New York, NY
8	Nashville, TN	2,466	1,253	36.8%	29.3%	New York, NY	New York, NY
9	Portland, OR	2,245	1,590	19.7%	17.1%	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
10	Charlotte, NC	2,234	1,628	39.7%	40.4%	New York, NY	New York, NY
*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in July 2020 †Negative values indicate a net outflow; among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

 

People are looking to leave New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles
The top five places with the biggest net outflow in July—New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, DC and Chicago—are the same as they were in the second quarter. Expensive coastal areas typically see the highest share of people looking to leave.

Indianapolis, where roughly 36% of local Redfin.com users looked for homes outside their home metro in July, is on the list of places with the biggest net outflow for the first time since Redfin started tracking migration. The most popular destination for people leaving Indianapolis is Chicago, though Chicago is also one of the places home searchers are looking to leave.

"Many of the sellers I work with are relocating to a different state," said Indianapolis Redfin agent Andrea Ratcliff. "The most common reason is a new job that requires a move to a different area, and some sellers are retired couples who own two homes and have decided to sell their primary residence in Indianapolis and move full time to their vacation home."

Top 10 Metros by Net Outflow of Users and Their Top Destinations
Rank	Metro*	Net Outflow†	Net Outflow LY	Portion of Local Users Searching Elsewhere (July 2020)	Portion of Local Users Searching Elsewhere (July 2019)	Top Destination	Top Out-of- State Destination
1	New York, NY	26,584	21,692	34.2%	39.8%	Boston, MA	Boston, MA
2	San Francisco, CA	26,247	17,052	23.9%	21.1%	Sacramento, CA	Seattle, WA
3	Los Angeles, CA	12,405	10,226	16.3%	16.4%	San Diego, CA	Las Vegas, NV
4	Washington, DC	8,298	5,396	13.3%	12.0%	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury, MD
5	Chicago, IL	4,415	3,073	11.7%	10.8%	South Bend, IN	South Bend, IN
6	Denver, CO	3,805	1,981	27.1%	23.7%	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA
7	Seattle, WA	3,612	1,184	14.2%	11.7%	Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA
8	Milwaukee, WI	1,337	674	37.9%	39.5%	Minneapolis, MN	Minneapolis, MN
9	Indianapolis, IN	791	331	35.9%	30.1%	Chicago, IL	Chicago, IL
10	Detroit, MI	632	209	22.4%	21.1%	Chicago, IL	Chicago, IL
*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in July 2020 †Among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

 

To read the full report, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/blog/july-2020-housing-migration-trends.

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered residential real estate company, redefining real estate in the consumer's favor in a commission-driven industry. We do this by integrating every step of the home buying and selling process and pairing our own agents with our own technology, creating a service that is faster, better and costs less. We offer brokerage, iBuying, mortgage, and title services, and we also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage search site, offering a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate. We represent people buying and selling homes in over 90 markets in the United States and Canada. Since our launch in 2006, we have saved our customers over $800 million and we've helped them buy or sell more than 235,000 homes worth more than $115 billion.

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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SOURCE Redfin

FAQ

What percentage of Redfin.com users looked to relocate in July 2020?

27.8% of Redfin.com users sought to move to a different metro area in July 2020.

What are the top migration destinations according to Redfin's July 2020 report?

The top migration destinations are Sacramento, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

How has the pandemic affected housing migration trends?

The pandemic has accelerated migration from expensive coastal cities to more affordable inland areas.

What cities are experiencing the highest net outflows of homebuyers?

New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are seeing the highest net outflows.

What factors are driving migration to Las Vegas?

Factors include no state income tax, a warm climate, and affordable home prices.