19% of House Hunters Are Looking to Relocate—And They’re Headed to the Sun Belt
- Redfin reports Florida, Las Vegas and Phoenix are the most popular destinations, with many movers chasing affordability and sunshine
- New York, Seattle, Los Angeles and other expensive metros top the list of places people are leaving; when people leave those places, they typically go to sunny Sun Belt locales
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Roughly one in five (19.1%) U.S. house hunters looked to move from one part of the country to another in the first quarter. That’s up slightly from 18.9% a year earlier and the highest share in records dating back to 2021, according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.
A record portion of Americans are looking to relocate partly because of affordability pressures. Housing costs are near record highs because mortgage rates and sale prices remain stubbornly high, and inflation is pushing up the cost of living for other everyday expenses. That’s motivating people to move from expensive areas to more affordable areas. Orlando, FL, for instance, is the most popular destination for relocating house hunters. The typical Orlando home costs just over $400,000, roughly half the cost of the typical home in New York, the most common origin for people moving there.
Another factor is boomerang migration. Some Americans are moving away from places they moved to during the pandemic. For instance, about 1,700 more people left Charlotte, NC than moved in during the first quarter, compared to a net inflow of about 3,200 five years earlier. Austin, TX lost about 300 more residents than it gained during the first quarter, compared to a net inflow of 14,000 five years earlier.
Note that while the share of house hunters looking to relocate has risen to a record high, that doesn’t mean the number of relocators is at a record high. Overall homebuying activity is sluggish, so the total number of migrants is likely lower than it was back in 2021 or 2022, when a smaller share of a larger pool of buyers was looking to relocate.
Florida Dominates List of Most Popular Destinations
Orlando, FL was the most popular destination for relocating house hunters in the first quarter. It’s followed by three other Florida metros: North Port, Miami and Cape Coral. Tampa came in sixth, after Las Vegas. Popularity is determined by net inflow, a measure of how many more Redfin.com users looked to move into an area than leave.
Half of the most popular destinations are in Florida, and all are relatively affordable, especially compared to the places people are most commonly leaving. All of the most popular destinations are in the Sun Belt, and all have warm, sunny weather.
Florida Redfin agents say that the Sunshine State has always attracted a lot of people from the north, especially retirees, who move in for the warm weather and beachy lifestyle. More recently, they say there has been an uptick in people moving to Florida for job opportunities. The state’s ‘Space Coast’, for example, is home to outposts of companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin that attract a lot of engineers and other tech workers from places like Seattle and California.
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Top 10 Metros House Hunters Are Moving Into, Q1 2026 Ranked by net inflow of Redfin.com home searchers Top 100 U.S. metros |
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|
Rank |
Metro area |
Net inflow |
Top origin |
Top out-of-state origin |
|
1 |
Orlando, FL |
6,914 |
New York, NY |
New York, NY |
|
2 |
North Port, FL |
6,772 |
Chicago, IL |
Chicago, IL |
|
3 |
Miami, FL |
6,576 |
New York, NY |
New York, NY |
|
4 |
Cape Coral, FL |
6,482 |
Chicago, IL |
Chicago, IL |
|
5 |
Las Vegas, NV |
5,639 |
Los Angeles, CA |
Los Angeles, CA |
|
6 |
Tampa, FL |
4,819 |
New York, NY |
New York, NY |
|
7 |
Phoenix, AZ |
4,522 |
Seattle, WA |
Seattle, WA |
|
8 |
Sacramento, CA |
4,442 |
San Jose, CA |
Seattle, WA |
|
9 |
Tucson, AZ |
4,241 |
Phoenix, AZ |
Seattle, WA |
|
10 |
Myrtle Beach, SC |
3,813 |
Washington, D.C. |
Washington, D.C. |
Relocators Are Leaving Expensive Big Cities
U.S. house hunters are leaving New York, Seattle and Los Angeles more than any other major metro. That’s based on net outflow, a measure of how many more Redfin.com users are looking to leave a metro than move in.
Next come three other major job centers: The Bay Area, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Expensive coastal cities and employment hubs usually top the list of places people leave as they chase affordability in other parts of the country. House hunters leaving Seattle, for instance, often seek out Phoenix, where buying a home costs about half the price.
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Top 10 Metros House Hunters Are Leaving, Q1 2026 Ranked by net outflow of Redfin.com home searchers Top 100 U.S. metros |
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|
Rank |
Metro area |
Net outflow |
Top destination |
Top out-of-state destination |
|
1 |
New York, NY |
-28,351 |
Miami, FL |
Miami, FL |
|
2 |
Seattle, WA |
-26,349 |
Phoenix, AZ |
Phoenix, AZ |
|
3 |
Los Angeles, CA |
-23,971 |
San Diego, CA |
Las Vegas, NV |
|
4 |
San Jose, CA |
-23,483 |
Sacramento, CA |
Seattle, WA |
|
5 |
Washington, D.C. |
-21,241 |
Salisbury, MD |
Salisbury, MD |
|
6 |
Chicago, IL |
-19,579 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Milwaukee, WI |
|
7 |
Boston, MA |
-8,822 |
Miami, FL |
Miami, FL |
|
8 |
Denver, CO |
-3,692 |
Colorado Springs, CO |
Phoenix, AZ |
|
9 |
Minneapolis, MN |
-1,861 |
Phoenix, AZ |
Phoenix, AZ |
|
10 |
Charlotte, NC |
-1,686 |
Greensboro, NC |
Greenville, SC |
House hunters are most commonly leaving big-city job centers, but migration out of those places has slowed over the last five years. Take New York as an example: Roughly 28,000 more people looked to move out than in during the first quarter, down from 46,000 in 2022. The Bay Area had a net outflow of around 23,000, down from 74,000 in 2022.
To view the full report, including methodology and state-level data, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/migration-q1-2026
About Redfin
Redfin is a technology-driven real estate company with the country’s most-visited real estate brokerage website. As part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), Redfin is creating an integrated homeownership platform from search to close to make the dream of homeownership more affordable and accessible for everyone. Redfin’s clients can see homes first with on-demand tours, easily apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage, and save thousands in fees while working with a top local agent.
You can find more information about Redfin and get the latest housing market data and research at https://www.redfin.com/news. For more information about Rocket Companies, visit https://www.rocketcompanies.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260629520938/en/
Contact Redfin Journalist Services:
Kenneth Applewhaite
[email protected]
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