(Bloomberg)—Homebuyers are still fleeing expensive cities like New York and San Francisco for sunny skies and cheaper homes in Florida, undeterred by rising mortgage rates.
Among the 10 cities that are seeing the highest net inflow of house hunters, half are in the Sunshine State, according a report from real estate brokerage Redfin. New York was the top out-of-state origin for buyers in three of those Florida cities: Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
Although the overall number of buyers looking to relocate is down compared to 2022, those who are picking up and moving are more likely to be going cross-country than house hunting in their current metro area. The number of people looking to move to a new city fell 3.6% in February from the same time last year, while those looking to move within their current metro dropped by 14.4%.
The cities with the highest net outflows came from the country’s most expensive housing markets, including San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Redfin defines net outflow as the number of Redfin.com home searchers looking to leave a metro area, minus the number of searchers looking to move in.
While rising interest rates have driven up monthly mortgage costs by nearly 20% compared to a year ago, that may not deter home hunters who feel they’re getting a deal in more-affordable cities, Redfin said. A typical home in Miami went for $485,000 in February, compared with $640,000 in New York.
To contact the author of this story: Paulina Cachero in New York at [email protected]
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