Americans are looking beyond their local markets for new homes — and Florida dominates the list: report

August 31, 2026 - 10:36

A growing number of homebuyers are casting a much wider net when searching for a new place to live, and new data shows that interest in out-of-state properties has reached a striking level. During the second quarter of this year, more than two-thirds of all new-home views on major real estate platforms came from buyers looking outside their local metro areas. That shift in behavior points to a fundamental change in how people approach the home search, with affordability and lifestyle taking priority over staying close to home.

Florida, in particular, has emerged as the dominant draw. Several of its metro areas, including Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, topped the list of most-viewed destinations for out-of-town shoppers. These markets offer a combination of relatively lower home prices compared to coastal giants like New York or San Francisco, no state income tax, and a warm climate that continues to appeal to buyers from the Northeast and Midwest. The report highlights that these Florida cities are not just attracting retirees anymore. Younger remote workers and families are also showing strong interest, drawn by the promise of more space for the money and a slower pace of life.

The trend is not limited to Florida, though. Other affordable Sun Belt cities, such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Charlotte, also saw significant attention from out-of-state buyers. What is driving this behavior? For many, the ability to work remotely has untethered them from a specific office location. For others, the high cost of living in their current city has simply become unsustainable, pushing them to look for alternatives where their income goes further. Real estate experts note that this pattern is likely to continue as long as the gap between high-cost and low-cost areas remains wide. The result is a more fluid and national housing market, where a buyer in Chicago might end up closing on a home in a suburb of Tampa without ever setting foot in the state until the final walkthrough.