Listen to this articleMost of the people who relocated to other areas this year headed south, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.
NAR’s 2024 Migration Trends report found that 46 percent of clients of real estate brokers moved to the South, while 25 percent moved to the West. Just 18 percent of the real estate clients moved to the Midwest and a paltry 11 percent moved to the Northeast, according to the NAR report.
Conversely, 33 percent of real estate clients moved from the South, 30 percent from the West, 22 percent from the Midwest and 15 percent from the Northeast.
According to the report, movers to the West were driven more than others by getting more house for the money (24 percent), movers to the South were more driven than others by lower or more favorable tax rates (19 percent) and movers to the Northeast were more motivated than others to move closer to their job location (22 percent).
Real estate clients also chose to move to a specific area primarily to be closer to family and friends (30 percent).
“It is no surprise that the Sun Belt states continue to attract movers within the U.S., but this report helps to highlight just how much the draw to be close to one’s friends and family drives a relocation,” Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a written statement. “Home buyers continue to seek areas where their support systems are around them.”
Other reasons real estate clients cited for moving include getting more home for the money (21 percent), the area having lower or more favorable taxes (16 percent), it being a safer area with less crime (16 percent) and being closer to their work location (15 percent).
“Home buyers are placing a priority on getting more bang for their buck, looking to areas with not only more space within their home but also favorable taxes,” Lautz said. “This migration flow will likely continue as retirees and remote workers relocate.”
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the top 20 states with the highest net migration in 2023 included Florida (372,870), Texas (315,301), North Carolina (126,712), South Carolina (91,853), Georgia (88,325), Tennessee (76,471), Arizona (57,814), Alabama (36,128), Oklahoma (31,967), Ohio (28,718), Indiana (22,468), Arkansas (22,202), Virginia (21,132), Idaho (20,053), Wisconsin (19,301), Colorado (19,167), Missouri (19,023), Kentucky (16,592), Washington (13,643) and Nevada (12,908).
Real estate clients generally moved to a similar type of area, according to NAR, though those moving from central city and urban areas (41 percent) and resort areas (44 percent) most often moved to a suburban area.
Real estate brokers reported that 36 percent of their clients moved to a different state in 2024, but most moved within their home state. The NAR report found that 21 percent moved within the same city, 21 percent moved to a different city in the same area and 21 percent moved to a different area within their state. Those relocating to the South and West were most likely moving from a different state, while movers in the Northeast were most likely moving within the same state.
Among repeat buyers, 74 percent sold their previous residence when making their recent purchase, while 20 percent kept their previous residence as an investment, rental or vacation property, according to the NAR report. Repeat buyers who moved to the West and Northeast were more likely than others to keep their previous residence.
The 2024 Migration Trends survey was sent via email to a random sample of 143,514 real estate brokers nationwide in August 2024. The survey received 1,572 responses, 1,061 of which had represented a primary home purchase this year.
