People are choosing to move to warmer and more enjoyable places when they have the freedom to live and work anywhere. This is seen by the increase in population in the Sun Belt. The National Association of Realtors used a map to show where people are moving to and from based on their address changes. The trend of people moving to places with more space and lower costs of living because of the COVID-19 pandemic is still happening. Some states like New York, California, and Illinois are losing residents, while states like Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas are gaining more residents.
Texas gained over 230,000 new residents in 2022, which is 1.6% of its total population. Houston had the highest number of people moving in with a rate of 55.7%, but other cities like Dallas, Austin and San Antonio also gained more residents.
California is still the most populous state but lost over 343,000 residents in 2022. Despite the overall population loss, cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose saw positive move rates.
Florida gained almost 319,000 new residents in 2022, which is almost 2% of its total population. Cities like Ocala and Tallahassee were popular destinations for movers, along with Deltona and Miami.
Illinois, which is home to Chicago, lost over 141,000 residents in 2022, which is a population loss of 0.8%. The trend of remote working caused even more people to leave the city in search of bigger spaces.
The NAR report shows where your state or zip code fell in the data sets. Even a small change in population can have surprising effects on the local housing market, so agents working in these states or metros should keep an eye on the migration trends to adjust their pricing strategies and obtain new business.