Is it the music?
Renters are more likely to relocate to Nashville, Tenn. than any other city, according to a recent Zillow analysis—but Music City U.S.A. hasn’t become a hot spot for just the tunes. Nashville and other cities like Raleigh, N.C. and Austin, Texas are still relatively affordable, and renters have taken notice.
At the other end of the spectrum, renters are more likely to relocate out of San Jose, Calif. than any other city, the analysis found. Generally, markets attracting renters from elsewhere in the country experience rising rents, while markets with a higher percentage of outbound renters show slower rent growth.
“An influx of people moving to new cities is among the drivers affecting demand and therefore affordability in many of today’s housing markets,” says Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell. “Rising rents become even more pronounced in booming markets like Nashville, Portland and Denver, not only because so many people want to move in, but also because so few people want to move away. There aren’t enough rental homes to go around and the rents have nowhere to go but up.”
Renters earning over $75,000 tend to secure housing in fewer than 10 weeks on average, according to the analysis, while those earning under $25,000 need nearly 12 weeks. Households willing to undergo long-distance moves tend to have higher incomes than households moving within a metro, as well. The income gap between newcomers looking to move in and current renters is largest in San Francisco ($23,000), San Jose ($20,600), Washington, D.C. ($19,200), Baltimore ($18,000) and New York ($18,000). The income gap was smallest in Nashville ($4,900), Providence ($6,000), Atlanta ($6,100), Salt Lake City ($7,500) and Orlando ($9,000).
In San Jose and San Francisco, where housing affordability has deteriorated to crisis levels, renters seeking to move away have smaller or equal incomes to those seeking a new rental within the region. Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Seattle are not far behind, with renters seeking to leave the region reporting only slightly higher incomes than renters seeking to move within the region.
For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.
