High-cost coastal housing markets like NYC and Seattle lose Americans each year. Here’s how their housing markets absorb it

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At first glance, the migration patterns in many high-cost and high-income coastal U.S. housing markets might seem unsustainable. Metro areas like Miami, New York City, Seattle, and Los Angeles often see negative net domestic migration year after year—meaning more people move out to other parts of the country than move in from elsewhere in the U.S. Yet these markets have not collapsed. In fact, many remain among the most expensive housing markets in the country.

The reason is that net domestic migration only tells part of the story.

The scatter plot below compares net domestic migration per 1,000 residents and net international migration per 1,000 residents between July 2024 and July 2025 across America’s 100 largest metro areas. ResiClub calculated the figures on a per-capita basis (per 1,000 residents) so migration levels could be compared across housing markets of different sizes.

What the chart shows is that many high-cost coastal metros that lose Americans domestically tend to offset much of that loss with international inflows. Take Miami, which ranks among the highest in the nation for net international migration per capita. Or New York City and Seattle, which also see steady international inflows even while experiencing domestic out-migration.

The other reason that metro area markets like Seattle and New York can sustain negative net domestic migration year in and year out: Income levels.

Long-term housing economics consistently show that local incomes are strongly correlated with home prices. That’s why, in part, high-income regions—especially those with strong long-term income growth—continue to see their housing markets function even after years of negative net domestic migration.

We should also point out that we’re currently in a window with historically low levels of state-to-state domestic migration. After a burst in state-to-state migration during the Pandemic Housing Boom (2020–2022), it has remained historically low—along with resale turnover—ever since mortgage rates spiked in 2022 and the Pandemic Housing Boom fizzled out. Relatively speaking, that has benefited housing markets like the New York and Los Angeles metro areas, which both saw a large jump in domestic outmigration during the Pandemic Housing Boom and are now seeing lower levels of domestic outmigration.

The 5 housing markets that saw the biggest regression in net domestic migration per 1,000 residents over the past 3 years:

While many of the housing markets that have seen the biggest deceleration in net domestic migration since the Pandemic Housing Boom fizzled out are places where net domestic migration still remains positive (like the Austin, TX metro area), many of them have still experienced negative housing demand shocks as a result. The reason is that as net domestic migration decelerates—and fewer higher-income households move in—those growth markets must rely more on local incomes to support home prices.

The 5 housing markets that saw the biggest improvement in net domestic migration per 1,000 residents over the past 3 years:

Net domestic migration measures the net number of people moving into a place from elsewhere within the same country minus those moving out to other parts of the country. It excludes international moves across national borders and mostly reflects Americans relocating between states or regions—although it can include noncitizens or visa holders if they were already living in the U.S. before making the move.

Net international migration, by contrast, captures population changes resulting from cross-border movements. The Census Bureau’s estimate includes both legal and undocumented immigration—including green card holders, undocumented immigrants, temporary visa holders, refugees and asylees, emigration out of the U.S., and the net movement of U.S. military personnel to and from overseas assignments.

Over the past week, ResiClub members got these 3 additional housing research articles:

NAR is the juggernaut of federal real estate lobbying—just look at these 4 charts

Net international migration in 800+ metros and 3,000+ counties

Monthly report: Housing market inventory dynamics in 800+ metros, 3,000+ counties, +25,000 ZIPs