Why so many people are moving to Richmond
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Most pre-pandemic moves were motivated by job changes. Now, housing affordability is driving cross-state relocations, experts say.
Why it matters: The Richmond region added nearly 30,000 new residents between 2020 and mid-2022, many of whom moved here from pricey NoVa in search of more affordable housing.
- The data shows that trend hasn't slowed down.
Zoom in: Just over 50% of page views for Richmond-area Zillow listings are from locals, according to first-quarter Zillow data shared with Axios.
- The rest of the searches are coming from outside the city, with folks in Virginia Beach and D.C. dominating the searches for Richmond homes.
- Of note: Compared to the same time last year, the number of out-of-Richmond searches is slightly up, and fewer of them are coming from D.C.
Yes, but: People in San Francisco are apparently searching for housing here.
The big picture: Since 2021, there's been an exodus from high-cost tech hubs along the West Coast — including the Bay Area and Seattle — for more affordable mountain region states and Texas, says Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr.
- On the East Coast, people left New York and headed south to Philly, the Carolinas and Florida, he adds.
Yes, but: "We're seeing a big pullback in migration right now," Marr tells Axios.
- It's simply too expensive for most people to buy right now. Across the U.S., the number of Redfin users searching for homes within their metro is down 18% from a year ago, per a June report.
- Meanwhile, the number of users surfing listings in a new area dropped 7%.
Between the lines: If people are moving right now, it's in search of cheaper housing elsewhere.
The intrigue: Domestic migration has scaled back, but we're seeing a resurgence of immigration, Marr says.
- And a lot of these folks are moving to cities that saw big local population losses.
What's next: Growing environmental concerns will start to influence migration patterns, though affordability will likely still be the No.1 driver, Marr predicts.