Go South, Young Millennial…and Retiree
LendingTree, Charlotte, N.C., says it’s not just birds that are heading south.
The company’s annual survey reported Florida is the number one destination for Americans on the move, and southern states in general lead all other regions. The company’s review of purchase mortgage loan requests for primary residences in all 50 states in the last year (Oct. 2016-Oct. 2017) found 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 report said.
Florida was the number one new destination for residents in 18 of the 50 states.
Texas had the highest percentage of residents looking to move within the state versus outside of the state. LendingTree reported 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. The report said nearly 76% of requests in Vermont were for properties within the state.
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.
LendingTree created a Moving Popularity Score Index to analyze destination states adjusted by population. South Carolina scored highest, as mortgage loan requests from out-of-state movers were 56% greater than suggested by its share of the national population. Other popular states are Florida, 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% of the loan requests its population would suggest. California, Minnesota, North Dakota and Hawaii complete the bottom five.
The report can be accessed at https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/where-residents-look-to-move/.
