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The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has published a brand-new report tracking interstate migration of homebuyers during the year. The “2024 Migration Report” marks the first time that NAR has conducted the survey.
Drawing on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the report tracks which of the four major U.S. regions (Northeast, South, Midwest and West) homebuyers are going to and from. From there, NAR membership was surveyed on why buyers are choosing certain regions and which features they’re prioritizing when selecting their new home.
RISMedia spoke with the report’s lead author, NAR Director of Business & Consumer Research Matt Christopherson, for insights into its findings and methodology. Christopherson explained that NAR conducted this report based on member interest—if that interest is sustained, the survey could become a regular report.
“I would see (our membership) wanting to keep this going to see any changes in movement patterns, so this would likely be conducted again next year in 2025,” said Christopherson.
The South is the region where the highest plurality of migrant homebuyers moved to (46%), followed by the West (25%), the Midwest (18%) and the Northeast (11%).
The ranking is the same for regions where people are moving from: 33% moved from the South, 30% from the West, 22% from the Midwest and 15% from the Northeast.
Christopherson noted that these two data sets are not contradictory as they might seem from a glance, due to the third data set tracking proximity of moves (i.e., how far away did movers go, from one house in the same city to another state altogether).
“The largest proportion of movers moved to a different state, so that could still be someone moving from one state in the West to another state in the West,” he explained. “A great example of this is people leaving California or close by states like Utah and Idaho that have strong hot job markets, but much more affordable housing options.”