Americans are on the hunt for housing affordability. Data indicate that the nation’s fastest growing cities are now those where housing is more affordable than average, a reversal from the housing boom years that characterized the early years of the millennium. During the housing boom, many Americans were flocking to some of the nation’s most expensive cities, including Cape Coral, Florida and Riverside, California. Today, the fastest growing cities include the likes of Oklahoma City, El Paso, Texas, Columbus, Ohio and Little Rock, Arkansas. There are many reasons for people to move, including family, climate and of course, employment.
But of those moving, housing considerations have become far more prominent over time. Among those who moved more than 500 miles this year, 18 percent said that they were principally motivated by housing. That’s up from 8 percent in 2007, the earliest year that such data are available from the Census Bureau. It appears that homeownership is still sought after by many people, and survey data indicate that many people have opted to move to lower cost communities in which they can afford a home rather than remain a renter in a more expensive setting.
