Nearly 40% of buyers stayed in the same city but switched neighborhoods, while 19% moved to a new city within their metro area. Only 15% percent of buyers moved to a different state, up from 11% in 2019.
Consider New York City. While it seemed early in the pandemic that many New Yorkers fled the city for southern states, USPS data from earlier this year found that more Manhattanites moved to Brooklyn than to Florida.
Those who didn't stay in the metro area still remained close by in the northeast, heading out east to Long Island and upstate to Westchester and Suffolk Counties. Some ventured a bit farther, to cities like Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Philadelphia.
Still, these are all areas with relatively short traveling times to the city, and trips that are easier to make if you don't commute every day, reflecting how widespread working from home is expanding regional labor markets.