New research from Realtor.com indicates that during the first quarter of 2022, 40.5% of prospective buyers viewed home listings located outside of their current state, compared to 36.4% in 2021 and 33.4% in 2020. Those that looked to move to another metropolitan area, including within their own state registered even higher: in the first quarter of 2022, 59.7% of all Realtor.com listing page views came from shoppers searching for homes outside of the metropolitan area where they live. This number is up an additional 4.6% this year.
“After two years of pandemic remote work, offices have started to reopen, but instead of seeing a slowdown in the number of people interested in homes out of state, we’re seeing an acceleration,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “Taking a closer look at the top destinations, we see some very different trends driving the desire to live out of state and home shoppers’ diverse needs. First, affordability remains a key focus for buyers, with demand for less expensive areas surging in recent months as climbing inflation and mortgage rates compound cost pressures faced by buyers. Next, flexibility enabled by broader adoption of remote work has fueled interest in sunnier climates, such as the Sun Belt. And finally, some people are simply ready to get back to normal, with some buyers’ desire to live downtown lifestyles driving two big cities into the top 10.”
While people are expected to have a better chance to buy a home in 2022 due to increasing supply, “rapidly intensifying cost pressures” are creating a greater sense of urgency for many buyers to find a home amid increasing inflation and interest rates.
Source: Realtor.com
