Restless residents of the country’s major coastal cities continue to eye the exits, according to a new study.
A record number of homebuyers want to decamp to new metro areas — with New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles leading the charge, according to a report from real estate site Redfin.
About 24% of all those shopping for houses sought digs in different cities in the third quarter of this year — a new all-time high, the study found.
“With a recession looming and household expenses high, many people can’t afford to buy a home in an expensive area and/or want to save money in case of an emergency, which makes relocating somewhere more affordable an attractive option,” said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao.
The study examined how many users of the listings site looked to depart from a particular metro area rather than move in.
“More homebuyers looked to leave San Francisco than any other major metro, followed by Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and Boston,” the report found.
There are 27% of searchers from New York sought homes elsewhere, with Florida their top destination. Aspiring Empire State defectors had Miami at the top of their wish list, followed by Tampa and Sarasota.
But Zhao noted that spiking interest rates and increasing unease over the state of the economy could stymie relocations in the near future.
“Migration will likely slow in the coming months because the softening labor market and job losses will push more people to stay put or move in with family, though some may need to relocate for new employment opportunities. Plus, many remote workers who wanted to relocate already have,” she said.
Los Angelenos had Las Vegas and San Diego as their preferred destinations, while San Franciscans probed their prospects in Sacramento, the report found.
Redfin noted that homes in California’s capital have a median price of $560,000, while San Francisco properties remain sky-high at $1.5 million.
More Washington, DC residents looked for homes in Salisbury, Maryland than any other city, while Chicago residents had Milwaukee as their top choice.