Consumers keep flooding to these three housing markets

In the constant search for metro areas offering affordability and purchasing power, consumers abscond exorbitantly priced big cities in favor of alternative locales further inland.

Phoenix, Sacramento, Calif., and Atlanta topped all housing markets by net inflow in the year's second quarter, according to Redfin's migration report. The three state capitals drew in 8,208, 6,799 and 6,113 potential new inhabitants, respectively. The trio has now occupied the top three spots of the report in some order for each of the past five quarters.

"People are increasingly looking to leave expensive coastal metros like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles," Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist, said in a press release.

"Lower mortgage rates have made buying a home more affordable, but not affordable enough for typical homebuyers contending these areas' sky-high home prices and taxes. The homebuyers who are heading out of town in search of affordability don't just want to save a few hundred dollars per month, they want to save thousands of dollars per month, and the only way to achieve that kind of cost savings is to move somewhere more affordable."

All three markets had net inflow increases from their year-ago and quarter-over-quarter levels, with Phoenix retaining its hold on first place.

"Out-of-towners continue to gravitate to Phoenix for all of the quality-of-life benefits our area offers: home affordability, low taxes and cost of living, proximity to California and Mexico beaches, and natural beauty," said Phoenix-area Redfin agent Van Welborn. "Many of the buyers I'm working with are moving from high-cost cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, New York and San Diego. Our jobs market is strong as well with Intel, Apple and Honeywell all expanding and attracting workers."

New York led in net outflow, potentially losing 35,855 residents in the second quarter. San Francisco followed with a drop of 28,190 and then Los Angeles with 16,103 considering a move elsewhere.

The report surveyed 87 housing markets and based its migration flows on the number of people looking to move into a metro area minus the number looking to leave.