Local laws and politics have become increasingly important as the nation gets more politically divided, and homebuyers have more flexibility than they used to in choosing where to live.
Roughly one-third (32%) of real estate agents have at least one client who moved primarily because of local laws or politics in the last year.
This is according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Qualtrics of 500 real estate agents from a wide spectrum of brokerages in the U.S. The survey was conducted in December 2023. This report is based on results from the following question: “Have any of your customers over the past 12 months decided to move primarily because of state or local laws or politics?” The answer choices were “Yes,” “No” and “I don’t know.” Please note that real estate agents answering “Yes” means that at least one out of numerous clients moved because of local laws or politics. The results reported here do not mean that one-third of homebuyers moved because of local laws or politics in 2023. This is the first time we’ve asked this question in an agent survey; we are unable to provide historical comparisons.
Factors like housing affordability, proximity to family and living close to job centers often outweigh political preferences or local laws when people are choosing where to live. But with the pandemic-driven rise in remote work, more Americans have the flexibility to factor in political preferences and local laws in deciding which metro area to call their hometown: A record share of homebuyers relocated to a different metro area in 2023. Some of the most common migration routes for homebuyers last year were from blue states to red or purple states: San Francisco to Austin; Seattle to Phoenix; New York to Orlando and other parts of Florida. That’s due largely to housing affordability, but some homebuyers moved because they wanted to live in a more conservative place.
State and local laws and politics have also become increasingly important as the nation gets more polarized, with Democrats and Republicans drifting further apart on issues like climate, immigration and education. State laws differ on partisan issues like abortion and gun control, with many Americans reporting they would prefer to live in a place with laws that align with their own views. On a similar note, many Americans prefer living in a place where their neighbors have similar political views.
We’ve heard anecdotes from Redfin agents who have helped clients relocate for political reasons since we started tracking migration about a decade ago, and even more so since the start of the pandemic. Some people move to more liberal places, and others move to more conservative places.
For example, one Redfin agent worked with a family who previously left New York state for Florida, but returned to New York last year because they preferred to live in a state with stricter gun laws.
Andrew Vallejo, an Austin, TX Redfin Premier agent, said he has helped clients move due to politics. “I know at least 10 people who have moved away from Texas in the last year, mainly because they don’t agree with state laws,” Vallejo said. “They all moved to the West Coast, to blue places where the policies align better with their personal views, specifically when it comes to women’s reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights.”
And although some of the homebuyers moving in the opposite direction–from blue to red states–do so because homes in red states are typically more affordable, we have also heard from agents about people making that type of move for political reasons. For instance, many conservative states have policies that attract business-minded residents, like lower taxes and fewer restrictions on companies. Other people leave blue states for red states to live near people with similar views; for instance, this couple moved from California to Idaho partly because they felt freedom to display a “Thin Blue Line” banner.
