Home buyers looking to relocate are most likely to be heading to Colorado Springs, Colo. The city nabbed the top spot on ATTOM Data Solutions’ list of top moving destinations for the third quarter of 2017. Also likely to receive more transplants are Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Reno, Nev.; and Lexington, Ky.
According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q2 2017 Pre-Mover Housing Index, the top five markets among the 122 metros researchers analyzed all posted an index above 200—which is double the national average. The Pre-Mover Housing Index uses data on residential purchase loan applications to determine the markets with the highest indices, which are predictive of sales activity.
The top 10 markets with the highest pre-mover indices in the second quarter were:
- Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Chicago
- Washington, D.C.
- Reno, Nev.
- Lexington, Ky.
- Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.
- Lancaster, Pa.
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- Charleston, S.C.
On the other hand, the five metros that had the lowest pre-mover indices in the second quarter were:
- San Francisco
- Rochester, N.Y.
- Honolulu
- Providence, R.I.
- Grand Rapids, Mich.
“Markets with a healthy mix of access to good jobs and relatively affordable housing attracted the most interest from pre-movers in the second quarter, a harbinger of strong home sales activity in the third quarter,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “Meanwhile, in some of the nation’s hottest housing markets, there was more pre-mover interest in outlying counties further away from jobs but with more affordable homes to purchase. We see this pattern playing out in places like Denver, New York, Seattle, and Southern California.”
Source: “Q2 2017 Pre-Mover Housing Index,” ATTOM Data Solutions (Aug. 22, 2017)