Clevelanders still looking local, even as more home shoppers eye moves
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In the Cleveland area, nearly 42% of Realtor.com listing views between April and June went to homes located outside the metro area.
Why it matters: That's the second-lowest percentage among the nation's 100 largest metros.
Yes, but: That's still up from 34.8% during the same period in 2019.
By the numbers: When Clevelanders look elsewhere, their top targets are other Ohio cities: Akron (18.5% of outbound views), Columbus (10.8%), and Youngstown–Warren (4.4%).
- Inversely, buyers in the Washington, D.C. metro accounted for nearly a quarter (24.4%) of out-of-metro views into Cleveland, followed by the New York-New Jersey area (13.7%) Akron (9%) and Columbus (7.3%).
The big picture: Nationally, an average of 59% of Realtor.com listing views from the 100 largest U.S. metros between April and June went to homes outside the metro where shoppers live.
- That's up from 48% during the same time period in 2019, before remote work and cheap mortgages sent droves of homebuyers to lower-cost areas like Charleston, South Carolina.
Reality check: One website's listing views don't necessarily equal real-life home purchases.
- Many shoppers, particularly first-timers, simply don't have the funds.
- And plenty of homeowners are reluctant to move because it would mean giving up a low mortgage rate.