Renters Are Shifting out and in of These Sizzling Cities the Most
As rental prices continue to rise, many tenants are looking for new cities to move to.
Remote working life, price volatility, and COVID-19 restrictions mean more renters pick up and leave when looking for more affordable accommodations, according to Apartment List’s quarterly data Tenant Migration Report. And some of the hottest tech cities like San Jose, CA, Raleigh, NC, and Austin, TX, in Silicon Valley, have some of the biggest sales as renters drive in and out of these areas.
Almost 40% of tenants who searched for apartments on the website searched in a different metropolitan area than their current location. And 26% looked in another state.
The report was based on rental inquiries on the apartment listing between July 1 and September 30. Subways include the capital and surrounding cities, suburbs, and smaller towns.
“We are definitely seeing the flexibilization effect of remote work,” says Rob Warnock, Senior Research Associate at Apartment List. “The pandemic has really shifted people’s priorities and what they want from their housing, and affordability has become a scarce commodity. People are rethinking where they want to be tenants, what suits their personal lifestyle and economic situation. “
In fact, urban rents rose dramatically across the country in 2021. At the national level, median rents have risen by more than 16% since January. In some hot cities, the increase was more than double.
‘Revolving Door’ Rental Markets
Some of the largest renters are moving in and out of technology hotspots where many residents can work remotely. Raleigh and San Jose in particular had the highest numbers (more than 50%) of renters moving to and from the cities. Austin also has a high turnover.
“These cities are in a technology-friendly part of the country where we know remote work is the most common. Some people will take advantage of it, while others say, ‘This is my chance to move to a city and do something that used to be unaffordable,’ ”says Warnock.
There are now fewer than half a dozen cities where rental prices are even lower than they were before the pandemic. Two of the most expensive places in the country, San Francisco and San Jose, are among the regions that technically still have a discount, according to Apartment List estimates.
But that doesn’t mean there are a lot of bargains out there. In San Francisco, the median rental price for a one-bedroom apartment was $ 3,300, while in San Jose it was $ 2,809, according to Apartment List.
Florida is still a hot spot for New Yorkers
New Yorkers are still hot for Florida, with its warm weather and no income tax. About 14% of New York renters were looking for apartments in the Sunshine State. And 10% hunted in cheaper Pennsylvania and another 10% searched other parts of New York state. About 7% looked at California real estate.
Miami is the # 1 city for New York renters, with 6.1% of searches leaving the Big Apple. The Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, Florida subways are other areas New Yorkers are looking for housing.
As New Yorkers continue to plant new roots in Florida, there is also an influx of new renters from California, says Rose Kemp, an Orlando-based real estate agent with Re / Max Town Center. She also noted that the “snowbird” trend of older renters leaving the northern states in winter for warm weather continues.
“We get people from all over the place, and even more so from new places like California. That has never happened before, ”she says. “We’re seeing more and more people from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania leaving cold-weather states. We cannot build homes fast enough. Our inventory is small and the rentals are hot and in demand. “
Emigrated from California
Most renters planning to move to another city are from California, according to the Apartment List report. Golden State renters have their sights set on Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Texas. In Nevada in particular, more than half of all apartment searches came from people living in California because there is a cheaper alternative nearby.
More California renters appear increasingly affected by the state’s progressive policies and potentially its COVID-19 restrictions, the report suggests. California’s net population suffered a record slump in 2020 when it lost more than 182,000 residents in the wake of COVID-19, according to the Associated press.
High government taxes could also be a reason for emigration. The median sales price of a single family home in California rose 23.9% in March to $ 758,990, the company said AP.
“The way that state governments and local leaders run cities and states has a huge impact on whether they want to stay or not,” says Kemp.
