SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — People are leaving San Francisco.
In fact, since the COVID-19 pandemic, people have generally been leaving metropolitan areas in favor of larger properties where they can work from home. San Francisco topped the list with the largest net outflows of homebuyers, along with other expensive coastal cities, according to data from real estate agent Redfin.
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Data shows that a total of 30,200 people wanted to leave San Francisco in January. This is down from January 2022, when 41,500 homebuyers wanted to leave the country.
Where are all these San Franciscos going? According to Redfin data, a large majority of them move east to Sacramento or north to Seattle.
| rank | metro* | Net outflow, January 2023 | Net outflow, January 2022 | Part of local users looking elsewhere | top target | Top travel destination out of state |
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | 30,200 | 41,500 | 26% | Sacramento, CA | Seattle, WA |
| 2 | Los Angeles, California | 20,100 | 31,000 | 18% | Las Vegas, Nevada | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 3 | New York, NY | 19,800 | 19,700 | 27% | Miami, Fla | Miami, Fla |
| 4 | Washington, D.C | 14,900 | 15,200 | 18% | Miami, Fla | Miami, Fla |
| 5 | Chicago, IL | 7,900 | 6,400 | 18% | Cape Coral, FL | Cape Coral, FL |
| 6 | Boston, MA | 5,600 | 9,400 | 20% | Portland, ME | Portland, ME |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | 3,400 | 19,000 | 19% | Phoenix, AZ | Phoenix, AZ |
| 8th | Denver, CO | 3,300 | 3,400 | 33% | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
| 9 | Hartford, Connecticut | 2,400 | 600 | 74% | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| 10 | Detroit, MI | 1,400 | 250 | 25% | Grand Rapids, MI | Grand Rapids, MI |
But many are also flocking to the Florida coast, possibly due to larger, cheaper real estate, a warmer climate, and lower taxes. The most popular travel destination is Miami, according to Redfin data.
The south Florida city saw a net influx of 7,200 homebuyers in January. This is also down from January 2022, when 11,400 homebuyers were looking to move. Most migrants came from New York, according to Redfin data.
“Many buyers have flocked to the Florida coast from out of town in recent months,” Elena Fleck, a Redfin agent in the greater Miami area, said in the study. “Buyers moving in from places like New York and San Francisco are helping the local market recover from last fall’s housing crisis.”
| rank | metro* | Net inflow, January 2023 | Net inflow, January 2022 | Top origin | Top out-of-state origin |
| 1 | Miami, Fla | 7,200 | 11,400 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| 2 | Sacramento, CA | 6,200 | 7,200 | San Francisco, CA | Chicago, IL |
| 3 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 5,700 | 6,900 | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles, California |
| 4 | Phoenix, AZ | 5,500 | 9,900 | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| 5 | Tampa, FL | 5,200 | 7,500 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| 6 | Dallas, TX | 4,400 | 7,300 | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles, California |
| 7 | Cape Coral, FL | 4,200 | 5,500 | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
| 8th | Orlando,FL | 3,800 | 1,700 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| 9 | North Port – Sarasota, FL | 3,800 | 5,300 | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
| 10 | Houston, Texas | 3,700 | 2,900 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
Four other Florida cities were in the top 10 most popular moving destinations behind Miami, including Tampa, Cape Coral, Orlando and Sarasota, as well as two metros in Texas and one in Nevada, all states that have no state income taxes.
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Redfin’s data is based on more than 2 million Redfin users who viewed homes for sale online in more than 100 metro areas from November 2022 to January 2023. A Redfin.com user is considered a migrant if they viewed at least 10 homes for sale in the third quarter and at least one of those homes was outside their residential area.
