Colorado Springs the Top Market for Homebuyers Likely to Move in Q3 201

Current Relocation Trends in an Era of Post-Pandemic Strangeness

While there were many theories that abounded about how COVID would affect trends throughout the country, including how it would affect relocation and housing, it didn’t seem to stop the already existing direction toward movement. But it did seem to lend some interesting inward and outward migrations as the country and economy was forced to shift priorities and goals.

While we are still firmly in 2021, there is enough data to support interesting migration patterns that may have been consequences of a response to the pandemic, housing crunches, and the increasing ability to work from home.

Consequently, some of the places where people have been migrating to and from may be surprising to some and not at all surprising to others.

Current Data From the National Association of Realtors®

In August, the National Association of Realtors® updated their study previously published in December of 2020. That previous study suggested that millions of people “panic-moved” from urban areas during the height of the pandemic. This was further precipitated by a third of all adults working remotely and schools limited to virtual learning environments.

That data suggested that more people were looking for larger homes in suburban areas, offering them a larger place to work and their children a place to play.

Still Movement Away From Urban Areas

According to the National Association of Realtors® updated information, covering data from January 2021 to June 2021, while fewer individuals moved in the first half of 2021 than the previous year, as a whole, they are still continuing to move away from urban areas into smaller towns and even rural areas.

This data indicates that urban areas continue to lose people slightly over the year before, with the highest inbound moves to rural, small town, and micropolitan areas. The National Association of Realtors® report that the draw for these areas are the lower cost of housing for larger homes.

The highest inbound move to urban areas continue to be individuals, but not families. The most popular destinations for these individuals for the first part of 2021 were

• San Francisco, CA
• Denver, CO
• Seattle, WA
• San Jose, CA
• Portland, OR
• Baltimore, MD
• Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area
• Austin, TX,
• Philadelphia, PA
• Los Angeles, CA

The Needs of Individuals Are Different From Those of Families, However

While data shows that most of those who moved into metropolitan areas were individuals, not families, the data shows a different set of migration that offsets the movement into urban areas. The most popular destinations for families moving in the first half of 2021 were:

• Naples, FL
• Barnstable, MA
• Cape Coral, FL
• Sarasota, FL
• Provo-Orem, UT
• Myrtle Beach, SC
• Port St. Lucie, FL
• Ocala, FL
• Wilmington, NC
• Ogden, UT

Business Movement

As a whole, businesses were also moving away from urban areas in the first half of 2021, according to inflow and outflow data. More businesses moved from urban areas than to them. The National Association of Realtors® suggested that due to the large number of office workers who were still continuing to work remotely, many of the businesses supporting downtown areas were still reporting declines, and many have decided to move elsewhere as a result.

The most popular destination for businesses during the first part of 2021 was

• Asheville, NC
• Cincinnati, OH (including surrounding areas in KY and IN)
• Omaha, NE (including surrounding areas in IA)
• Riverside, CA
• Deltona, FL
• Bridgeport, CT
• Charleston, SC
• Nashville, TN
• Jacksonville, FL
• Charlotte, NC

These trends are probably in a state of flux as we are still operating under a pandemic mindset, but it will be interesting to see if COVID has led to a significant long-term change in real estate patterns for individuals, families, and companies across the country.

No Matter Where You Move

For now, this may equate to housing becoming less affordable in these high-growth areas and more affordable in the traditionally high cost of living in urban areas. Either way, when you are considering the purchase of real estate, it is essential to understand all your options when buying real estate in any market or in any place.

If you are in the market for a new home, whether it is across town or a major relocation, contact the professionals at NonQMHomeLoans.com. We offer a broad range of conventional mortgages and non-QM mortgage products. Contact us at (800) 413-0240 or apply for a loan easily here.