U.S. Movers Looking for Affordability Tested Out New Zip Codes in 2021

In 2021, a growing number of Americans with remote work flexibility moved to areas with greater affordability to maximize their homebuying dollar in more appealing markets. The average 2021 mover relocated to a ZIP code where homes were roughly $35,800 cheaper than in their original residential areas, according to Zillow.

Sunbelt metro areas topped the list for net inbound moves in 2021, pulling in buyers from more expensive cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. As more Americans relocate to popular metros, affordable housing supply in the past year’s top destinations is gradually declining, suggesting new migration patterns in the coming year. 

In 2021, Americans intensified a trend begun in 2020 of moving to more affordable areas, as rapidly rising home values and more remote-working jobs continue to push people to seek out locales where their home-buying dollar goes farther. But some of 2020’s most popular destinations, including Phoenix and Austin, have gotten so expensive, so quickly that they are losing some of their appeal as affordable options.

The average interstate mover in 2021 moved to a ZIP code where homes were about $35,800 cheaper than where they came from, up from the 2020 comparable average ZIP-level price decline of about $29,500, according to a Zillow analysis of local home value data and mover data from Allied Van Lines. Before the pandemic, people tended to move to ZIP codes with very similar average prices: the average ZIP-level price change was a decrease of less than $7,500 in each year from 2016 to 2019.

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