In the fourth quarter of 2019, 26% of home-searchers looked to move to another metro, compared to 25% in the same period the year before, according to a new report from Redfin. This ties the all-time high set during the third quarter of 2019.
Phoenix reclaimed its No. 1 spot during Q4 after falling to No. 3 in Q3. The net inflow in Q4 2019 was 6,509, compared to 5,254 in Q4 2018. Both top origination and top out-of-state origination for Phoenix was from Los Angeles.
Known as an iBuyer hub, Phoenix seems to attract homebuyers of all kinds. Since 2018, Zillow, Offerpad, Opendoor and Redfin (to name a few) have been buying and selling homes in the Arizona city.
Portland, Oregon re-entered the top 10 list of metro areas with the highest net inflow of Redfin users, coming in at No. 7 after falling out of the list in Q1 of 2019.
“The ability to work remotely is a huge factor in people relocating, especially within the same time zone,” said Portland Redfin agent Megan Warren. “I just met with a homebuyer who is moving here from Oakland in the spring. Working remotely is allowing him to sell his condo in a less desirable part of the Bay Area for over $500,000 and buy a serious upgrade in space, safety, and neighborhood in the Portland area.”
Those who moved to Portland originated the most from San Francisco. At $400,000, Portland has one of the most affordable median home prices among major West Coast cities, according to Redfin. San Francisco meanwhile has a median price of $1.32 million.
Las Vegas, ranked No. 3 on the Redfin inflow list, also got the largest share of Zillow traffic from outside of its metro area of any of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas – nearly 61%.
Another new addition to the list was Nashville, at No. 10 for the month. Meanwhile, San Diego and Charlotte, North Carolina fell off the list.
To no one’s surprise, more expensive metros saw negative migration, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
“The current inventory crunch really started building in the fourth quarter, pushing home prices in the expensive coastal cities back up after a slight reprieve earlier in the year,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “As price increases begin to gain steam again in these areas, we’re predicting that migration to more affordable areas will increase, which in turn will begin to drive prices up there, as well.”
