By: Devonta Davis – Digital Producer, Tampa Bay Business Journal
Davis Islands bridges to downtown Tampa
Skyrocketing home prices and rising mortgage rates have made relocating to a more affordable area the only viable option for some prospective homebuyers.
New data by the realty company Redfin shows people were on the move during the first quarter. The company’s report shows that 32.2% of people using its website were looking to relocate to a different metropolitan area, that's up from 31.5% a year earlier and up significantly from 26% in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area was the No. 3 ranked destination for people looking for a new place to call home in the United States.
The report states that most Tampa Bay newcomers come from the Orlando area, with the other half coming from New York City.
Increasing home prices and quickly rising mortgage rates, which make monthly payments even higher, are the catalysts for the moves this year. However, Tampa Bay has its own share of rent increases.
Popularity was measured by net inflow, or how many more Redfin users looked to move into an area than leave. Warm weather and relatively affordable areas are typically the most popular places for people to move to, a trend that increased with the pandemic.
Miami topped the list after residents flowing into the metro went up sixfold from two years earlier, maintaining its standing from the back half of 2021.
Phoenix, Tampa, Sacramento and Las Vegas are the top five most popular migration destinations. Net inflow into all five destinations has increased significantly since before the pandemic.