Is the Golden State no longer gold? Has the Sunshine State lost its sparkle? Is the Lone Star State still a popular landing spot for would-be cowboys and girls?
According to a new LendingTree study, California, perhaps the most expensive state in the country when it comes to buying a house, was the least popular state for out-of-state shoppers compared to residents looking to buy elsewhere. But hurricane-ravaged Florida was the most popular.
For every 100 Californians interested in purchasing outside of their state, the study found, only 30 out-of-state buyers expressed interest in the state. Florida, on the other hand, was the most desired destination for out-of-state house hunters.
The study is perhaps an early indicator of future migration patterns as people start the process of searching for new homes.
Overall, more than one in eight shoppers were looking at properties outside of their home states last year, either for a personal residence or as a holiday house. Florida was the top destination for people from nine states, including Texas — another state prone to hurricanes, was the top choice for folks from seven states, including California.
California, of course, is “famously expensive” for home buying. LendingTree notes. The average monthly mortgage payment there is $3,399, or $1,082 higher than the national average and the second-highest by state.
But it seems to be weather-be-damned Florida, where the lack of a state income tax is a key driver of interest, is the top dog, and not just in college basketball. That and almost eternal sunshine. Big, sprawling Texas doesn’t have a personal income tax, either.
No income tax is “a big deal,” says Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst. And the diversity that Florida and Texas offer – they feature a mix of big urban cities and rural areas – also “can be appealing.”
Of any place, though, out-of-state residents showed more interested in South Carolina than Palmetto State residents were interested in buying elsewhere. For every 100 South Carolinians searching out-of-state, 255 out-of-staters were interested in replacing them. The average monthly mortgage payment in South Carolina is $296 less than the national average of $2,317, according to a 2023 LendingTree study.
Maine and Delaware, two other coastal states, were the next states drawing more people looking to move in than out.
At the same time, for every 100 New Yorkers looking to buy out of state, the state attracted interest from only 37 out-of-state buyers. Houses in the Empire State also come with higher monthly mortgage payouts than the national average.
Perhaps Island Fever, a mysterious “disease” that grips people who feel isolated for too long, has gripped both Alaska and Hawaii. Shoppers in those two states were more likely to seek places elsewhere. Conversely, shoppers is Texas, Michigan and Wisconsin were the least likely to consider out-of-state dwellings.
LendingTree’s Schulz noted that the economics of the move in-move out equation has its good and bad points. Demand from out-of-state buyers can drive house prices higher, he explained. That helps current owners build equity. But it makes it more difficult for those people looking to buy their first homes. “A tidal wave of out-of-staters coming in and looking to buy doesn’t make that any easier,” he says.
