Dallas-Fort Worth appears to be a powerful magnet for homebuyers leaving pricier areas.
A new ranking from technology and data provider CoreLogic puts the DFW Metroplex at No. 10 among the 15 hottest markets for homebuyers based on the number of people relocating there from April to December last year. At No. 8, San Antonio was the only other Texas metro in the top 15.
Riverside-San Bernardino, California, grabbed the No. 1 spot.
Last year, the DFW area saw an 8.7 percent in home sales in 2020 compared with 2019, according to the San Antonio Board of Realtors, and a 6.7 percent hike in the median home price.
By comparison, the higher-ranked San Antonio area experienced an 11 percent increase in home sales and the median home price climbed 7 percent.
CoreLogic says many homebuyers left states with high taxes and expensive housing last year and moved to metro areas in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
“The pandemic created a perfect recipe for consistently employed Americans,” Archana Pradhan, principal economist at CoreLogic, says in a news release. “If it had been any other mix of events — for example, if low housing inventory was coupled with job inflexibility — we wouldn’t have had such a large group of homebuying consumers feeling empowered to make bold moves in their living situations.”
Top metros in CoreLogic’s report offer better affordability versus their more expensive counterparts thanks to lower costs per square foot, lower property taxes, and no state income taxes. In addition, several of the top markets supply sunny weather.
The new survey echoes similar recent reports about the strong DFW market — that it has been a top place for housing growth the last decade, that strong demand has shot up prices, and that the area has been a hot destination for California transplants.