(NEXSTAR) – Homebuyers looking to offset soaring home prices and near-7% mortgage rates and are more willing than ever to shop outside of their city, according to a new study.
Real estate brokerage Redfin found that a near-record number of prospective buyers, 24.1%, looked to relocate from August through October.
When it came to the most sought-after cities, the Sunshine State dominated the top 10, despite the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian in late September. Miami landed in the third spot overall, followed by Tampa in fifth place, Cape Coral in seventh, North Port-Sarasota in eighth and Orlando in 10th.
Redfin calculated the ranking based on net inflow, or the number of people looking to move into a city minus the number trying to move out.
Remote work, born of necessity during the pandemic and now a valued job criteria for many, continues to ease workers’ moves between cities and even states. An October report from the National Association of Realtors found that the two qualities remote workers overwhelmingly valued above all others were year-round warm weather and, of course, high-speed internet.
California city takes top spot
The top city in the nation was not in Florida, however, but in California. Sacramento saw the highest net out-of-state searches among Redfin’s roughly 2 million users.
Filling out the top 10 are Las Vegas in second place, San Diego in fourth, Phoenix in sixth and Dallas in ninth.
The top five cities when it came to net outflow were, in order, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., and Boston.
Good news for homebuyers?
While the number of Redfin users looking to relocate is at near-record levels, home sales across the country are under pressure.
Amid high inflation and soaring mortgage rates, pending home sales dipped 4.6% in October, according to the National Association of Realtors, making it the fifth straight month of decline.
“October was a difficult month for home buyers as they faced 20-year-high mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The West region, in particular, suffered from the combination of high-interest rates and expensive home prices. Only the Midwest squeaked out a gain.”
The overwhelming trend identified by Redfin was a move away from the high sticker prices of San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago to cities with lower asking prices, effectively increasing affordability and offsetting some hefty mortgage payments.
There may be some good news for homebuyers, however, according to Yun: “The upcoming months should see a return of buyers, as mortgage rates appear to have already peaked and have been coming down since mid-November.”