FILE - Inside new home construction in Cape Coral, Fla. on July 29, 2024. (Photo by Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The U.S. South attracted the most people to move to the region last year, according to a new report shared by the National Association of Realtors.
The 2024 Migration Trends report, released last week, shows that southern states like Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas were big winners in domestic migration patterns – "largely led by more affordable conditions and opportunities."
RELATED: Here's what the housing market will look like in 2025
Here's what to know:
Reasons why people moved
According to the report, also citing U.S. Census Bureau data, 42% of these moves were driven by housing reasons.
Another 26% cited family reasons, 16% for employment reasons, and only 1% moved due to climate-related reasons.
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2025 U.S. real estate predictions
Zillow predicted a more active market with additional inventory for 2025, giving buyers more room to negotiate. However, homebuyers should expect some turbulence with fluctuating mortgage rates, even as more homes become available. Alana Mann, President of The Statesman Group of Companies, joined LiveNOW from FOX to discuss.
Top 10 states with largest net migration
Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia rounded out the top five states that had the largest net migration in 2023.
Tennessee came in at No. 6, followed by Arizona, Alabama and Oklahoma. Ohio rounded out the top 10 and was the only state north of the Mason-Dixon Line to land on it, after drawing in a net migration of 28,718.
According to the Census Bureau, the South, the nation's most populous region, is the only region to have maintained population growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth is largely attributed to migration, with 706,266 people added via net domestic migration.
Where people moved from in 2023
California, the nation's most populous state, shed 75,423 people last year, according to the report.
In 2023, Hawaii (-4,261), Illinois (-32,826), Louisiana (-14,274), New York (-101,984), Oregon (-6,021), Pennsylvania (-10,408), and West Virginia (-3,964) also all saw their populations fall.