More Americans are migrating from expensive, densely populated urban areas to less-pricey, coastal locales according to CoreLogic’s recent report on the hottest metro areas for migration.
CoreLogic’s report states that secondary cities — large cities adjacent to major metros — were the target for homebuyers looking to get more housing bang for their buck. This had a lot to do with America’s newly profligate work-from-home culture. Fewer Americans feel tied down to the location where their employer is headquartered, which has opened up many possibilities that weren’t previously available. Americans were empowered to trade in an urban, walkable neighborhood with high prices for larger homes with more outdoor space.
CoreLogic’s April 2021 survey on homebuyers revealed that most buyers (the largest proportion of which were Baby Boomers) are moving for a different location altogether. However, Gen Z and Millennial buyers need more space to stretch out.
“Buyers are moving from both coasts, primarily from California and New York, to Texas,” said Bill Clarkson, a real estate agent with Century 21 Judge Fite Company. “They’re like kids in a candy shop, typically cash buyers and
quickly learn that the square footage and lot size is beyond their expectations compared to what they are used to seeing in their home states.”
Of those Texas locations that are exceedingly popular with buyers bent on fresh views, San Antonio-New Braunfels came in at No. 8, whereas the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA clocked in at No. 10. However, the hottest in-migration spot was Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California. The cities with the highest out-migration are New York-Newark-Jersey City, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, and San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley.
