The pandemic-induced shift towards remote work has accelerated the trend of moving to suburbs, while increasing home ownership costs have further motivated this change. Recent data indicates that nearly 60% of prospective homebuyers are looking at properties beyond their current markets, with Western states showing the highest browsing rates. In particular, San Jose, California, has seen over 90% of its residents searching for more affordable living options outside their city, highlighting the movement towards suburbs for greater affordability.
A surge in pandemic-driven remote work is mostly behind the shift in the last half decade, but rapidly rising average home ownership costs are equally to blame in recent years.
Realtor's recently released Q2 2025 cross-market demand report shows shoppers are browsing outside of their current market nearly 60% of the time.
Residents in Western states are most guilty of peeking across city limits - 65% of the time, as has been the case for the trailing six years.
More than 9 in 10 San Jose, California, residents are looking for homes elsewhere.
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