New data shows apartment searchers open to longer-distance moves.
The shift seen in the workforce regarding work-from-home (WFH) opportunities has affected renter preferences. The Apartment List Renter Migration Report for 2022 shows 40% of apartment searchers were looking in a new metro for their new apartment home, while 27% of apartment searchers were looking in a new state.
Analysis shows that those moving from one metro to another also brought with higher budgets (5.5% higher than current metro resident searchers). Interstate movers budgeted 11.5% more.
“Some of this reshuffling is undoubtedly attributable to the long-term adoption of remote work, which offers newfound flexibility to a segment of the workforce that also earns relatively high wages,” according to the report. “Remote workers moved at higher rates in the past, and recent data suggest they will continue to do so in the near future.”
At the state level, renters leaving California had, on average, budgets 24% higher than renters who were already living in the state. For example, California renters leaving the state for Nevada—the top destination from California—had a budget of $1,514, while local renters budgeted $1,397. Meanwhile, New York residents searching for an exit to Florida, also the top outbound destination, are budgeting $2,050, while local renters are at $1,612.