Where ‘Affordability Refugees’ Are Moving as High Prices Push Them Out

Squeezed by sky-high home prices, buyers in expensive and midtier metros alike are increasingly looking beyond the horizon of their local market in search of greater affordability or better job prospects.Cross-market home searches on Realtor.com® topped 60% across the 100 largest U.S. metros this spring, up from roughly 48% in 2019, with housing affordability overwhelmingly dictating whether buyers stay or go, according to the Realtor.com economic research team.However, the report highlights that affordability is relative, taking on different meanings depending on the local market and a buyer's budget. "Affordability retains shoppers when present, pulls them in from pricier markets, and pushes them out once it's gone," explains Realtor.com senior economist Jiayi Xu.Regionally, the West led in outbound home shopping traffic, which eclipsed 65% in the second quarter of 2026, followed by the South (59.8%), Northeast (58.3%), and Midwest (56.1%). In other words, more than half of home shopping traffic in every region of the U.S. went to listings outside the local market. Priciest market in the nationAt the metro level, San Jose, CA, recorded the highest out-of-market search traffic acr...