Redfin data shows a record 19% of house hunters sought to relocate in Q1 2026 — and affordability is driving it
One in five American house hunters is now searching outside their home metro, and Redfin's latest data tells brokers exactly where that demand is landing.
The share of US house hunters viewing homes in a different metro area reached 19.1% in the first quarter of 2026, the highest in records going back to 2021, according to a new report from Redfin, a real estate brokerage. That figure edged up from 18.9% a year earlier.
Persistently high mortgage rates and sale prices near record levels are pushing buyers out of expensive metros in search of markets where their dollars go further.
Buyers increasingly cross state lines with portable remote incomes, making relocation viable without a job change.
Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American in Santa Ana, California, previously told Mortgage Professional America the trend was structural.
"The untethering from the office has certainly contributed to folks feeling like they can maybe move from a more expensive market to a more affordable market," she said.
"You see out-migrations from traditionally more expensive markets like LA and New York to traditionally more — or relatively more — affordable markets in the Sun Belt."
Florida tops every measure of in-migration
Florida dominated both the metro and state-level rankings in Q1 2026. Orlando led all individual markets with a net inflow of 6,914 Redfin.com users — meaning far more people were looking to move in than leave — followed by North Port, Miami, Cape Coral, and Las Vegas.
At just over $400,000, the typical Orlando home costs roughly half the median in New York, the most common origin for buyers heading there.
Florida's statewide net inflow reached 46,664, ahead of Arizona, South Carolina, and Tennessee combined. Local agents report a growing share of engineers and tech workers from Seattle and California drawn to the state's Space Coast by SpaceX and Blue Origin operations.
The gains are uneven, however. Several Sun Belt metros that surged during the pandemic, such as Cape Coral and North Port, are now facing price corrections as insurance costs rise and demand normalizes.
Big cities are losing fewer people than before
New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles recorded the largest net outflows of any metro in Q1 2026, per Redfin. But the pace of departure has eased. New York's outflow fell to approximately 28,000 from 46,000 in 2022; the Bay Area's declined from 74,000 to around 23,000.
At the state level, California led all outflows at 54,767, more than twice New York's 29,895.
That stabilizing exodus creates both risk and opportunity for brokers working in the markets absorbing the most in-migration. Research on the US housing markets where Gen Z buyers are choosing to put down roots shows the next wave of movers will weigh employment access alongside price.
Bruce Gehrke, senior director of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power in Detroit, Michigan, told MPA the current environment rewards local specialization.
"I think brokers need to continue to focus on where their competitive advantage has always been," he said.
"That's more local, that's more personal, face-to-face with the borrower. I think that's still an advantage that they have."
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