LendingTree Migration Study: More Homebuyers Heading South

LendingTree migration study: More homebuyers heading south

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Oct. 31, 2017 – LendingTree, an online loan marketplace, released the findings of its study on where residents in each state want to move. In the latest study, LendingTree says it discovered a southern tilt in preferences for those people looking outside their own state.

Florida was the No. 1 new destination for 18 of the 50 states. Of all purchase mortgage requests during the study's time period, 9.14% were for consumers looking to move to Florida. The Sunshine State has a history of bringing in visitors and new residents, particularly retirees.

The results reveal the most popular new destination for each state along with the percentage of out-of-state requests for that location.

States that love Fla. – % looking out-of-state– % of those looking at Fla.

1. Vermont – 24.07% – 14.01%
2. New York – 20.8% – 21.5%
3. Connecticut – 19.09% – 22.5%
4. Maryland – 18.94% – 13.0%
5. New Jersey – 18.08% – 21.09%
6. Illinois – 14.66% – 14.07%
7. Pennsylvania – 13.47% – 17.14%
8. Maine – 12.99% – 22.11%
9. Iowa – 11.89% – 10.38%
10. Wisconsin – 11.45% – 14.1%
11. Kentucky – 11.11% – 15.81%
12. Tennessee – 11.07% – 16.19%
13. Alabama – 10.3% – 22.09%
14. Indiana – 10.13% – 18.24%
15. Georgia – 9.68% – 26.32%
16. Ohio – 9.66% – 19.83%
17. Michigan – 9.18% – 21.52%
18. Texas – 7.46% – 10.49%

Texas had the highest percentage of residents looking to move within the state versus outside of the state. 92.54% of purchase mortgage requests from individuals in Texas were for properties within the state. The second location with the highest percentage of residents looking to move within the state was Michigan.

In contrast to Texas, Vermont had the lowest percentage of residents looking to stay in state. 75.93% of requests in Vermont were for properties within the state.

If individuals are looking to move outside of state, most don't want to go far.

More than half of the most popular new destination states border the current state. Of the states that the residents' most popular new location does not border their current state, 16 were Florida.

However, in a related but separate Moving Popularity Score Index, South Carolina edged out Florida, even if more people actually seem to be looking at the Sunshine State. In South Carolina, mortgage loan requests from out-of-state movers were 56 percent greater than suggested by its share of the national population.

Florida ranked second, however, followed by Delaware, North Carolina and Georgia, revealing a southern tilt in the preferences of out-of-state home buyers.

At the other end of the spectrum, home buyers were least attracted to South Dakota, which received just 71 percent of the loan requests its population would suggest. California, Minnesota, North Dakota and Hawaii complete the bottom five.

The popularity score for each state was created by dividing the percentage of all out-of-state mortgage requests for the state by the percentage total population each state represents. A score of 100 means a state receives loan requests proportional to its population, above 100 means a state is more popular than its share of the national population and below 100 means a state is less popular than its share of the national population.

Moving popularity score: Top 10

1. South Carolina – 156
2. Florida – 143
3. Delaware – 139
4. North Carolina – 135
5. Georgia – 134
6. Nevada – 125
7. New Hampshire – 123
8. Tennessee – 119
9. West Virginia – 118
10. Mississippi – 112

Moving popularity score: Bottom 10

1. South Dakota –71
2. California – 72
3. Minnesota – 76
4. North Dakota – 77
5. Hawaii – 77
6. New York – 79
7. Illinois – 79
8. Wisconsin – 82
9. Arkansas – 83
10. Massachusetts – 83

© 2017 Florida Realtors