Everyone Wants To Move To Florida

A record number of homebuyers looked outside their metro area in January, according to the latest data from Redfin.

  • A record one-quarter (24.9%) of Redfin.com users nationwide looked to move to a different metro area in January, up from 24.5% in the fourth quarter and 22.8% a year ago.
  • This was a 39% increase from before the pandemic when homebuyers looking outside their metro area was closer to 18.0%.

Miami Migration. Apparently, Ken Griffin isn’t the only person who wants to move to Miami. The Florida city was the most popular migration destination in January, claiming the top spot for the first time since August with 7,200 net inflows to the city.

  • Relative Affordability. Dana Anderson notes that homes in Florida certainly aren’t cheap. “The typical Miami home sold for $470,000 in January…But they do tend to be less expensive than the places people are coming from. The typical home in New York sold for $650,000 in January.”
  • Sacramento took the number two spot with 6,200 net inflows followed by Las Vegas (+5,700), Phoenix (+5,500), and Tampa (+5,200).

Cali Exodus. More homebuyers left San Francisco and Los Angeles than any other U.S. metro in January. San Fran had 30,200 net outflows and L.A. had 20,100 net outflows.

  • New York took the third spot with 19,800 net outflows followed by D.C. (+14,900) and Chicago (+6,400).

BOTTOM LINE: Despite a slowdown from last year, Florida, by far, has the hottest housing market. Five of the top ten metros for net inflows were in Florida. I don’t know how long it will last, but Floridian homeowners got to be loving it.