Staying Home. More people not moving

Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent

Staying Home. More people not moving

Here are two articles that highlight the desire of current homeowners to stay around town. It makes me think that the current lower-inventory conditions will be with us for a while, and even if lower rates were to happen, they probably won’t change much:

People are moving less, and when they do move, they’re mostly staying local. Bank of America account data shows overall mobility is down, especially for longer distance moves. Moves within the same city are also declining, but have held up better through Q1 2026.

Source: https://institute.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/economic-insights/on-the-move-closer-to-home.pdf

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The gap between where rates are and where households “need them to be” is suppressing labor mobility, distorting retirement decisions, and reshaping expectations about generational wealth building: 56 percent of working Americans have either turned down a job requiring relocation or say they would, and 20 percent have already turned down a job, promotion, or career opportunity because it required moving.

Polls show that the majority of homeowners with mortgages would consider moving if they could transfer their current rate, and a portion of those would move immediately.

Generational wealth expectations have shifted, with the minority of Americans believing their children will ever be able to afford a home. If you recall, this year’s State of the Union Address did not include proposals for housing construction, zoning reform, first-time buyer credits, or changes to housing finance policy, and this data helps explain why rate drops alone won’t be enough.

It is hoped that Trump moves before the midterms to shift the landscape.

https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05262026

Boston Real Estate for Sale

Staying Home

How long does it take a home in the US to change hands?

Homeowner tenure has flattened since its 2020 peak.

The typical homeowner has spent 13.2 years in their home, down from 2020’s peak of 13.5 years and up from 2012’s 10.1 years, according to a new report from Redfin. 

That flattening is due to the number of Americans who moved during the pandemic as low mortgage rates encouraged home purchases. Remote-work options fueled by the pandemic also led to a record number of people relocating over the past two years. 

Still, the report found people are staying in their homes longer due to the shortage of homes for sale, low monthly payments due to refinancing and taking advantage of historically low rates, while older homeowners are choosing to age in place. Redfin said rising rents are also a factor. 

Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather says homeowner tenure may have already peaked or that the 2021 decline could be a “blip before it climbs back up.” 

“Remote work is encouraging homeowners to sell their homes in expensive cities and move to more affordable areas, which could pull tenure down,” he said in a press release. “But on the flip side, rising mortgage rates may discourage people from selling and older Americans are staying put longer, which could push it back up.”

California homeowners are staying the longest with the typical Los Angeles homeowner spending 18 years in their home as of 2021, the longest of any metro in Redfin’s analysis. Both Honolulu and Oxnard, California, had median tenures of 17 years as the tenure of homeowners in those areas rose by about four years in the past decade. 

The median tenure was found to be larger than the national area in other areas of California due to the state’s property tax laws, the report found, and that included Anaheim, the Bay Area, Bakersfield, Fresno, Riverside and San Diego. The state’s Proposition 13 has an incentive for homeowners to stay put by limiting property tax increases. 

In the Midwest, St. Louis, Detroit and Chicago saw homeowner tenure rise by five years, the largest increase of all metros Redfin analyzed. 

In 15 metros, homeowner tenure declined, and many are popular relocation areas. Tenure declined by a year in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa.

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Staying Home

According to the American Community Survey, 83.5% of Americans in 2005-07 lived in the same home that they had a year earlier. This was higher in the Northeast, and it was at 85.9% in Massachusetts, the seventh highest in the nation.

The question is, does the low mobility rate in Massachusetts represent a population that’s satisfied with the way they live-or does it mean a tight housing market in which younger people in particular can’t find, or afford a new home?

Source: Commonwealth