Housing affordability continued to influence where Americans looked to live in the second quarter of 2026, with a growing share of homebuyers and renters searching for properties outside their current metro areas.
According to a Redfin analysis, 18.7% of U.S. house hunters were looking to relocate to a different metro area in Q2 2026, up from 18.1% a year earlier and the highest second-quarter share in Redfin's records dating back to 2021.
Las Vegas ranked as the top destination for relocating house hunters, followed by North Port, Orlando, and Miami. Nine of the 10 most popular destination metros were in the Sun Belt, with affordability cited as a key factor behind the continued migration toward lower-cost markets.
Florida led all states with a net inflow of 38,922 house hunters, followed by South Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, and Nevada. On the other side of the migration trend, California recorded the largest net outflow at 56,548, followed by New York and Illinois.
The price gap between high-cost coastal markets and emerging destinations illustrates the affordability dynamic. The typical Las Vegas home sold for approximately $447,000, compared with $922,000 in Los Angeles. In another example, the typical New York home cost about $832,000 versus $309,000 in Philadelphia, a common destination for New York movers.
Remote and hybrid work have continued to support geographic flexibility, allowing more households to consider relocating. However, Redfin noted that overall homebuying activity remains subdued, meaning the actual number of people relocating may still be below pandemic-era levels.
For housing investors, developers, and operators, these migration patterns highlight the continued importance of affordability, population movement, and regional housing demand when evaluating markets.
Source: Redfin Research
