Real Estate Information platform Redfin released a report on June 29th, showing that due to the continuous rise in housing prices in the US Northeast and coastal areas, 19.1% of homebuyers in the first quarter of this year considered relocating across regions. Among them, the number of homebuyers considering leaving California ranked first nationwide, with Florida, Las Vegas, and Phoenix being the most popular relocation destinations.
This percentage is higher than the 18.9% in the same period in 2025 and is the highest record since 2021. Redfin analyzed the search records of users on the platform in over 100 metropolitan areas across the US to identify buyers who were interested in searching for properties outside their current location. Users who viewed at least 20 homes for sale or rent in a specific area within a month were considered interested in relocating to that area.
The report indicated that a record proportion of Americans are considering moving, partly due to the continuous worsening of housing affordability. With mortgage rates and housing prices remaining high and inflation driving up daily living costs, housing costs are still close to historical highs.
As of June, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported the median home sale price in the US was $430,000. A report released by NAR in May showed that 71% of major metropolitan areas in the US continued to see rising home prices, with the median home price in the western region at $607,600 and $506,500 in the northeastern region.
Therefore, Redfin pointed out that more and more people are starting to look for more affordable areas, such as Orlando, Florida, where the median home sale price is slightly above $400,000, about half of New York’s home prices.
The report revealed that Orlando had the highest net inflow of potential residents (the number of intending movers minus the intending movers out) nationwide, reaching 6,914 people.
Other Florida cities like North Port, Miami, Cape Coral, and Tampa also had net inflows of over 6,000 people.
The report noted that half of the most popular relocation destinations were in Florida. All popular destinations were cities with abundant sunshine and warm climates.
Florida has always been a desired place of residence for retirees; however, Redfin’s data also showed that the number of people moving to Florida for job opportunities has been steadily increasing in recent years.
The report mentioned that Florida’s “Space Coast” attracted many tech talents from the West Coast due to the presence of expanding companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
In terms of states, Florida attracted the most out-of-state homebuyers, with a net inflow of 46,664 people, followed by Arizona with 17,599 people and South Carolina with 13,853 people. Tennessee, Nevada, and Texas also had net inflows of over 10,000 people.
Redfin pointed out that remote work becoming more common made it easier for people to relocate across regions. According to a report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released in March of this year, 22.6% of wage workers in the US were working from home, with the percentage ranging between 21.5% and 23% over the past year.
On the other hand, among the metropolitan areas with the most intending movers out, New York City ranked first with a potential net outflow of 28,351 people in the first quarter of 2026.
Seattle ranked second with a potential net outflow of 26,349 people, while Los Angeles ranked third with 23,971 in potential net outflow. Additionally, cities like San Francisco, Washington, Boston, and Minneapolis also had thousands of people intending to move out, outnumbering those intending to move in.
In terms of state analysis, Redfin found that California experienced the most significant net population loss nationwide, with 54,767 people intending to move out, followed by New York with a potential net outflow of 29,895 people. Illinois, Washington, and Massachusetts ranked third to fifth.
The report noted that although the percentage of homebuyers willing to move across regions reached a new high, the actual number of movers may not increase at the same pace.
The report stated, “Overall homebuying activity remains sluggish, so the actual number of movers is likely to be lower than in 2021 or 2022. Back then, although the percentage of homebuyers considering relocation was lower, the overall number of homebuyers was much higher than it is now.”