#real-estate-migration-patterns

#real-estate-migration-patterns

"People are choosing Westchester - not just to visit, but to live, build families, and invest in their future. When we create housing opportunities and vibrant neighborhoods, people come - and they stay."

Los Angeles County's population has now dipped to just under 9.7 million, marking a continuation of a steady slide for the nation's most populous county. The raw number of departures is eye-catching, but experts say the broader trend may be even more concerning: fewer people are coming in to replace those who leave.

The Census Bureau estimates indicate how the population changed in the 387 US metro areas from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025. Most experienced at least some population jump, but at a cooler pace than the same period a year earlier, mainly due to smaller net international migration.

If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, I'll be happy if they only stayed at $4 a gallon. This situation is bound to impact budgets for commuters significantly.

"What's the consequences if we allow 800 residents to be in a severe fire with no evacuation routes? We're being asked to choose between two really bad options."

As we move into a new year, the data shows that people are being much more strategic about where they move. While the massive surge of migration to the Sunbelt remains a primary driver of growth, moving to a particular state or region is taking a back seat to moving to very specific neighborhoods.

The February PAPI declined over the month and is nearly 10% lower than a year ago, reflecting both reduced payments and steady income growth, Edward Seiler said. While affordability conditions remain challenging in many markets, these incremental gains felt across more than half of states are an encouraging sign for prospective buyers, particularly those seeking lower-payment options.

The top ZIP code Gen Z is moving to in 2025 is 55401, a central area of Minneapolis on the banks of the Mississippi River. Homes in the area are mainly made up of stylish condos and command a median house price of $372,500, which is lower than the average U.S. house price.

"When deciding whether to sell quickly or rent out the home, many homeowners underestimate the logistics involved with moving only part of their belongings or staging while relocating. Storage may seem like a simple add-on, but it actually introduces multiple steps, additional labor, and can significantly increase costs, sometimes even doubling them."

The inheritance trend is especially pronounced in California, where tax policies encourage families to keep homes rather than sell them, according to the report. State rules cap property tax increases at 2% per year. They also allow children and grandchildren to inherit tax benefits on the first $1 million of real estate value if the home becomes a primary residence. Nearly 60,000 California homes were inherited in 2025, accounting for 18% of all property transfers in the state. For the first time, inherited homes more than doubled the number of new homes sold. Cotality said these incentives create a significant financial incentive for beneficiaries to hold onto the inherited home and use it as a primary residence effectively locking potential supply out of the open market.

Although affordability is improving across the US, Zillow senior economist Kara Ng told Business Insider that buyers may not feel it in already expensive markets, like Seattle, for example. "The typical household buying a typical home in Seattle is going to spend 47% of their income on monthly payments," Ng told Business Insider. "We expect them to spend from 47% down to 45% over the next year. So that's an improvement in affordability, but it's a very different starting place."

Existing home sales fell 8.4% from December to January, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Economists had expected a 4.6% monthly drop, according to WSJ data. Sales were down 4.4% from a year earlier, hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million. Zoom in: The decline was most acute for single-family homes, where sales fell 9%. Regionally, the West was down 10.3%, the South 9% and the Midwest 7.1%, while the Northeast rose 5.9%.