Topline
The number of Americans who changed their addresses in May and June dropped nearly 10% this year, according to a new Pew Research Center report released Monday, as rising interest rates and rents cause fewer Americans to move.
The number of Americans who moved in late spring of this year dropped in every state, according to … [+]
Key Facts
Fewer people moved into every state this year compared to in May and June of 2021, with Maryland and New York facing the biggest drop (14%) followed by California and Louisiana (13%), according to the report, which used data from the United States Postal Service.
The smallest year-over-year decreases were in Maine (1%), Delaware (3%) and Michigan, Mississippi and New Mexico (4%).
Some of the areas with the biggest decreases were Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood, where moves decreased to 1,371 in May and June (a 44% year-over-year decline), as well as Southwest Washington D.C. (32% decline) and Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood (30%), according to Pew Research Center.
Some parts of the country experienced increases in the number of people moving in, including the Dallas suburb of Forney, Texas, where move-ins increased to 2,124 (22%), and Maricopa, Arizona, where they increased to 1,295 (30%).
Key Background
Economists cite rising interest rates and rental costs for the recent decline in the number of Americans changing addresses. Rent prices jumped more than 26% from pre-pandemic levels, hitting a nationwide median of $1,849 per month in May and $1,876 in June, according to data from Realtor.com. Meanwhile, mortgage rates have climbed as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in an attempt to curb skyrocketing inflation. The national rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hovered around 5.78% in mid-June, the highest level since 2008. Although rates fell to 4.99% last week, they’re nearly double where they were this time last year (2.77%).
Tangent
The recent decline also fits into a longer-term trend, with the percentage of Americans who move every year steadily dropping for decades. A record-low 8.4% of the population moved last year, down from 9.3% in 2020 and half the rate recorded in 1948, according to the Census Bureau. Nearly one in five Americans changed their address in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, according to the Brookings Institution, which attributed the high numbers to nationwide economic growth, home purchases and a generally younger population ready to move. It fell to 15-16% in the 1990s and 13-14% in the early 2000s. A 2013 study by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve said this decline could also be because labor markets have become more similar over time, so many Americans don’t need to move to find a job, plus would-be movers have access to more information on what a big move would entail, possibly discouraging them from relocating.
Further Reading
Inflation, Soaring Rents, And The Housing Crisis (Forbes)
New Home Construction Keeps Sinking As Housing Market Demand ‘Quickly’ Dries Up (Forbes)
Housing Market Decline Begins as Consumer Confidence Crashes (Newsweek)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/08/08/fewer-americans-are-moving-this-year-amid-rising-interest-rates-and-high-rents/