More people are moving to Miami

More people are moving to Miami than most major metro areas in the U.S.

What's happening: Miami experienced the largest increase in people moving in from before the pandemic.

• We saw gains of nearly 60% in 2022 compared with 2019, per a new report from the National Association of Realtors.

The big picture: People aren't moving to big city centers like they used to, even as employers ramp up calls to return to the office, Axios' Sami Sparber writes.

Why it matters: Affordability is still drawing folks to less dense and cheaper areas, particularly those in the booming Sun Belt.

Driving the news: The report showed that major metro areas like New York, San Francisco and Chicago saw more people leaving than moving in.

• Instead, people fled to cities in Florida, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina.

What they're saying: "Pre-pandemic, we had a different trend. People wanted to move to big city centers," Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of real estate research at the National Association of Realtors, tells Axios.

• More people are moving to those cities compared with 2021 but "we're not there yet," Evangelou says of metro areas regaining the population that fled.

Between the lines: Across the board, the report found, fewer people moved last year, continuing a trend from 2021.

• The report analyzed the U.S. Postal Service's change-of-address data to spot migration trends.
• Nearly 70% of U.S. ZIP codes posted fewer inbound moves in 2022 compared with 2021, according to the data.
• The slowdown has persisted as droves of people sought more space and cheaper cost of living during the pandemic.