The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has published a brand-new report tracking interstate migration of homebuyers during the year. The “2024 Migration Report” marks the first time that NAR has conducted the survey.
Drawing on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the report tracks which of the four major U.S. regions (Northeast, South, Midwest and West) homebuyers are going to and from. From there, NAR membership was surveyed on why buyers are choosing certain regions and which features they’re prioritizing when selecting their new home.
RISMedia spoke with the report’s lead author, NAR Director of Business & Consumer Research Matt Christopherson, for insights into its findings and methodology. Christopherson explained that NAR conducted this report based on member interest—if that interest is sustained, the survey could become a regular report.
“I would see (our membership) wanting to keep this going to see any changes in movement patterns, so this would likely be conducted again next year in 2025,” said Christopherson.
The South is the region where the highest plurality of migrant homebuyers moved to (46%), followed by the West (25%), the Midwest (18%) and the Northeast (11%).
The ranking is the same for regions where people are moving from: 33% moved from the South, 30% from the West, 22% from the Midwest and 15% from the Northeast.
Christopherson noted that these two data sets are not contradictory as they might seem from a glance, due to the third data set tracking proximity of moves (i.e., how far away did movers go, from one house in the same city to another state altogether).
“The largest proportion of movers moved to a different state, so that could still be someone moving from one state in the West to another state in the West,” he explained. “A great example of this is people leaving California or close by states like Utah and Idaho that have strong hot job markets, but much more affordable housing options.”
When asked why the Northeast was the least popular destination, Christopherson pointed to the region’s high home prices. He also noted that the Northeast was the most “job-driven” location; 26% of movers to the Northeast said the commute was a reason they chose to purchase a specific home, while 5% said it was due to the home’s closeness to public transit. These were highest in both categories across the four regions.
Buyer behavior
In 2024, the highest number of transactions began in June (21%), followed by May (18%) and then April (15%).
The report indicates that even when a homeowner moves to a new region, they are still seeking a similar residence as their old one. For instance, 72% of buyers who moved from a suburb also moved to a new suburb. Similarly, 55% who moved from small towns moved to a new small town, while the highest plurality (33%) of urban movers moved to another central urban area (compared to 6% who moved from a city to a suburb).
While 30% of homebuyers chose to move in order to be closer to family and friends across all four major regions, Christopherson noted that remote work has granted movers greater “flexibility.” When asked if return-to-office mandates will undermine this, he pointed to the report’s statistic that only 2% of buyers were reported to have moved for this reason.
“However, a lot of those bigger newsworthy return-to-office like Amazon have happened a lot more recently, so we’ll see if that adjusts the moving patterns next year,” he said.
Twenty-one percent of migrant buyers were upsizing to get “more home for their money,” while 16% said more favorable taxes. However, Christopherson said that tax benefits may soon be offset.
The specific states that saw the highest levels of migration were Florida (372,870), Texas (315,301) and North Carolina (126,712)—states that have proven vulnerable to climate disasters. However, only 1% of buyers were found to have moved for climate reasons, and Christopherson said that such disasters generally cause only short-term avoidance of affected areas. What does move the needle are insurance costs, which are skyrocketing in the South due to global warming.
“Insurance costs are definitely an item, like a strong topic on the minds of buyers and agents looking for the best opportunities,” said Christopherson. “Interestingly, people are moving to the South for lower tax rates, but at the same time, they could be having higher insurance costs. That kind of balances that out.”
Across all four regions, the primary drivers of why buyers chose particular houses were a home’s outdoor space (42%), increasing the square footage compared to their previous home (31%) and seeking a quieter area (24%). Christopherson said it was “slightly” surprising that outdoor space ranks above square footage, but said this is also consistent with most buyers choosing the warmer climate of the South; more outdoor space means more room to enjoy that warmth.
For the full report, click here.
