Americans Are Looking For Homes Across State Lines In 2026 – The Mortgage Note

Nearly one in five American homebuyers looked beyond their local market in early 2026, as rising housing costs push more shoppers to search for affordability across state lines.

That’s according to a new report from Redfin, which found that approximately one in five (19.1%) of Americans looking to buy a new home shopped in a different part of the country in Q1 2026.

That’s up from the same time last year and the highest share since 2021.

Redfin attributes the cross-country interest to affordability pressures in some regions. The Northeast and West continue to see sky-high home prices, while the South and Midwest remain relatively affordable. Redfin pointed to Orlando, FL, as an example, where the typical home costs around $400k– a hefty price tag, but about half the cost of a home in New York.

But some homebuyers are moving away from the cities they migrated to during the pandemic. Charlotte, NC, and Austin, TX, two former boomtowns, saw more people leave than move in during 2026.

Priced-out locals are fleeing, as well.

“If there’s a corner available, they will build a high-rise on it. It’s turning into an overly congested, expensive city. I used to spend two and a half hours a day in the car just going to and from work,” Kimberly Jones, a Miami native who moved to North Carolina, told Business Insider.

Orlando, FL, took the top spot as the most popular destination for out-of-town home searches, followed by North Port, Miami, and Cape Coral, all Florida metros. Tampa also made the top 10. Las Vegas, Phoenix, Sacramento, Tucson, and Myrtle Beach made up the rest of the list.

Americans are moving away from expensive major metros like New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles, in favor of former pandemic darlings that have seen major turnarounds in the last few years.

Thirty-five of the 50 most populous U.S. metros were buyer’s markets in May, and many of them were in Southern Sun Belt states.