More Buyers Looking Outside Their Metro Area

1 out of 3 (32.6%) people doing a home search on Redfin’s site looked beyond their metro area, and four of their top 10 preferred destinations are located in Florida.

SEATTLE – A record 32.6% of Redfin.com users nationwide looked to move from one metro to another in the second quarter, up from 32.3% in the first quarter and roughly 26% before the pandemic, according to a report from Redfin.

Miami and Tampa topped the list of desired metros in the second quarter of 2022, with Cape Coral and North Port lower in the top 10 list:

• No. 1 Miami: 33.3% of searches came from outside metros (31.5% in 2021). Top origin state: New York
• No. 2 Tampa: 36.3% from outside metro areas (37.5% in 2021). Top origin state is New York City, though the top outside metro searching was Orlando.
• No. 6 Cape Coral: 67.1% from outside metro areas (74.9% in 2021). Top origin metro is Chicago.
• No. 8 North Port: 66.8% (75.8% in 2021) Top origin metro is Chicago.

“The typical home in San Francisco or San Jose now costs more than $1.5 million. Add in today’s 5%-plus mortgage rates and you have a sky-high monthly payment,” says Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. “Those factors, along with more companies giving employees the permanent flexibility to work remotely, are driving a larger portion of buyers to consider homes in other parts of the country.”

Florida sees more homebuyers move in than a year ago

In total number of new out-of-metro residents showing interest, Miami was the most popular migration destination (12,614 net inflow). Redfin measures popularity by net inflow, or how many more users looked to move into an area than leave.

Tampa came in second with a 9,841 net inflow, followed by Phoenix (9,730), Sacramento (9,640) Las Vegas (8,597), Cape Coral (7,015), San Diego (6,804), North Port (6,626), San Antonio (5,335) and Dallas (4,964). Warm, Sun Belt metros are perennial favorites for relocators.

“Tampa is still attracting a lot of out-of-state homebuyers, coming from places like New York, who can get more for their money in Florida,” says Eric Auciello, a Redfin manager in Tampa. “The spike in mortgage rates has priced some buyers out of the market, but it has also helped ease competition and curb bidding wars between locals and out of towners. A lot of buyers who kept getting outbid at the peak of the market are now getting their offers accepted, and in some cases they’re even able to use FHA loans, make smaller down payments and keep the appraisal contingency.”

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