By Mary Prenon
While most Americans still follow the long-held pattern of “renting first, buying later” when relocating—especially across state lines—a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that in some states, most newcomers do the opposite and buy within their first year.
Nationally, just more than 27 percent of interstate movers own a home during their first year after moving, leaving the other nearly 75 percent to search for apartments or other rental options. By comparison, households that move locally—within the same county—are much more likely to buy right away.
“This pattern isn’t new. In fact, it’s been remarkably consistent over time,” NAR senior economist Nadia Evangelou said in the Jan. 27 report. “Looking back nearly two decades, the share of interstate movers who own their homes has followed the broader housing market conditions.”
Evangelou noted that during the mid-2000s, some 30 percent of interstate movers were homeowners, but that share dropped during the housing bust, falling to below 20 percent in the early 2010s. When the market began to recover, home ownership among movers gradually grew, registering in the mid-20-percent range by the late 2010s.
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021 changed the home buying landscape with lower than normal mortgage rates, remote work, and a huge uptick in relocations. By 2024, Evangelou said, the share of interstate movers buying homes was back to its 2019 level.
While today’s higher mortgage rates and affordability issues are keeping many would-be homeowners on the sidelines—especially when moving to a new state—some of the country’s metros are managing to buck the “rent first, buy later” adage.
According to the report, Alabama’s Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metro, along with North Carolina’s Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro, and the Naples-Marco Island and Ocala, Florida, metros excel in prompting new movers to become homeowners right away. In some cases, more than 70 percent decide to buy instead of rent. Rockford, Illinois, was the lone Midwest metro with more new arrivals who were buying versus renting.
“What these markets have in common is a combination of relative affordability, available housing stock, and strong in-migration,” Evangelou said. “For many movers, especially those relocating from higher-cost areas, buying a home is easier in these markets.”
She added that many of these markets are also well-known retirement havens, and seniors moving in often have sufficient cash to spend from a previous home sale.
In the Daphne metro, more than 76 percent of newcomers chose to buy rather than rent. The Hickory metro had more than 63 percent buyers versus renters, and in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro of Texas, more than 62 percent of new residents bought property instead of renting.
While these metros represent just a small portion of the country, Evangelou noted it’s critical for realtors to understand how people move and how they choose to live when they get where they’re going.
“In some markets, movers represent future buyers. In others, they are buyers right away,” she said.
In its 2025 year-end report, United Van Lines noted that top inbound states for the year included Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Delaware, Idaho, and Nevada. South Carolina and Alabama have been included in the top inbound states over the past six years.
The top outbound states last year included New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, North Dakota, and Mississippi. New Jersey has ranked among the top 10 outbound states for more than 15 years.
