KOMO-TV
Saturday July 25, 2020
KOMO Photo
SEATTLE - More and more people are seeking to sell their homes and move out of Seattle area, according to a newly released report.
The report, by Seattle-based online residential real estate company Redfin, found that the number of home sellers looking to leave the Seattle metro area has jumped to 13.7%, compared with 11.2% at the same time last year.
Meanwhile, the net outflow of homeowners from Seattle has soared from 363 in the second quarter of last year to 6,007 in the second quarter of this year - a jump of more than 1,500%.
There are several reasons for the huge increase in homeowners seeking to leave Seattle in their rear view mirror, according to the report. Among them:- Low mortgage rates and changes in what people want in a home are providing an incentive to people who were already considering a move to another area.
- More Seattle-area employers are offering flexible remote work policies, which frees workers from having to live in this part of the country.
- A significant percentage of people are looking to move from the Seattle area to a more affordable market or closer to family.
- The coronavirus pandemic is preventing Seattle-area residents from fully enjoying local amenities, which lowers the incentive to live here.
"As we enter the second half of the year, I expect more people to move from one part of the country to another as the pandemic continues to influence people's priorities and lifestyles," said Redfin economist Taylor Marr.
The most popular destinations for those leaving Seattle are Phoenix, Ariz.,; Sacramento, Calif.; Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the report found.
Ironically, many home sellers leaving other U.S. cities say they are viewing Seattle as a likely destination. But, at this point in time, many more homeowners are leaving Seattle than are moving in.
Homes in the Seattle metro area - which includes Bellevue and Everett - sold for a median price of $615,000 in the second quarter of 2020, the analysis found.
The report is based on a sample of more than 1 million Redfin users who searched for homes across 87 metro areas in the second quarter of 2020, excluding searches unlikely to precede an actual relocation or home purchase.