Real Estate

Here are the top destinations for movers in the U.S.

Affordability and location are key

While most people who move tend to stay relatively close to where they were before, that doesn't mean that others aren't willing to pack up and move to a whole new city or state.

New data realtor.com shows that the typical homebuyer may only move up to 15 miles away from home, but others are attracted to metros that offer housing affordability, strong employment and other factors.

realtor.com analyzed the metro areas that score the most out-of-town searches on the real estate listings site, and there are some where more than half the searches come from outside the city. 

In fact, of the top ten most desired locations to move to, the share of out-of-state searches on realtor.com ranges from 48% to 59.8%.

Charleston, South Carolina, the No. 1 city on the list, was searched by homebuyers who live in Charlotte, New York and Atlanta. Second on the list was Boise, Idaho, which was sought out by Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Sacramento residents. 

"Home prices have risen for seven consecutive years, far outpacing salary growth. Although interest rates are the lowest they have been in three years, cost has become a deal breaker for many buyers, especially in pricey West Coast metros," said realtor.com Senior Economist, George Ratiu. "But instead of giving up on the American Dream, many buyers have decided to look for a home in medium-sized metros outside their state that offer price relief, and a similar lifestyle."

Markets with booming jobs are also what movers seek out. Realtor.com’s study showed that the top 10 destinations have an average unemployment rate of 3.3%, ranging from 2.7% to 4.6%.

Eight of the 10 locations on the list also have lower overall tax burdens than the national average.

The ranked metros were based on the amount of out-of-state searches done on realtor.com in the second quarter of 2019.

Here are the top 10 destinations for movers in the U.S.:

  1. Charleston, South Carolina

  2. Boise City, Idaho

  3. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii

  4. Columbia, South Carolina

  5. Cape Coral-Fort Meyers, Florida

  6. Portland, Maine

  7. North-Port Sarasota, Florida

  8. Greenville, South Carolina

  9. Tucson, Arizona

  10. Las Vegas, Nevada

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