Dive Brief:

• Colorado Springs, CO, Charleston, SC, and Raleigh, NC, were the top markets for owners gearing up to move in Q1, according to Attom Data Solutions' new Pre-Mover Housing Index. San Francisco, Providence, RI, and Hartford, CT, had the lowest share of owners looking to move.

• The index compares housing purchase loan applications to the total number of homes in a given area in order to determine the ratio of properties that are likely to sell in the next 30 days. Scores above 100 indicate that more homes will be sold than the national average.

• Homebuyers in Q1 were more likely to move to or within markets with affordable housing and healthy employment prospects. Similarly, in higher-priced markets like New York, Seattle and Southern California, movers tended to pick properties farther from urban centers in more affordable counties within the region.

Dive Insight:

Cities in the U.S. that offer low housing costs and strong employment opportunities are a draw for buyers today.

Charleston, for example, also topped a recent Realtor.com ranking of cities with populations of 50,000 or more measured by in-migration from 2000 to 2015. The study compared home values in lower-income Census areas to residents' income and education to determine the potential for a significant demographic shift during that time. In Charleston’s case, the median home price increased from $152,100 in 2000 to $270,000 in 2015, suggesting a shift had occurred. It was joined by Asheville, NC; Portland, OR; Nashville, TN; and Austin, TX, as other markets experiencing a similar trend.

Colorado Springs is also gaining momentum, retaining its place in Realtor.com’s monthly ranking of the top 10 housing markets, albeit falling slightly from April to May. The city was also recently named one of the best markets for first-time buyers, due in part to the availability of affordable mortgage options. 

While nearby Denver struggles with soaring home prices — thanks to having some of the tightest inventory in the U.S. — Colorado Springs has become a draw for its relatively stable market and lower-cost housing. Housing inventory is particularly constrained relative to demand in Colorado’s northern Front Range, with seven of the top 12 U.S. counties reporting the lowest levels of housing affordability in Q1 located in the northern part of the state.