LAS VEGAS HOME BUYER PREFERENCES

More than just a seasonal desire for warmer weather during winter  months, more than all of the top long distance  home searches coming from New York and Chicago at the end of summer were to major metros in the south and southwest.

Chicagoans  prefer homes in Nevada,  Arizona and Texas, along with the Gulf coast of Florida, while New Yorkers tend to flock to the Atlantic coast of Florida, including Miami, west Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

Las Vegas is number 9 on the long distance outbound searches from Chicago and is not on the list from New York. Although the data focuses on home searches and provides some insight into potential home buyer
intent, actual deals will depend on improvement in the job market, the willingness of banks to lend, and other economic factors.

"There are some jobs that are remote, that can be done anywhere, but most long distance moves mean retirement or a new job, the economist said".  

Sarasota Florida topped the list topped the index at 6.03 at 6 times more inbound than outbound searches. On the other side, Washington D.C. and Arlington Virginia showed the weakest housing demand with an index reading 0.37, which means there were about 3 times more outbound than inbound searches.

Search behavior tells us where people want to move and can point to which
markets will grow long before official population data tells us what happened.

"The glut of vacant homes in Las Vegas -- the result of overbuilding and high mortgage delinquencies -- has made Las Vegas home ownership more affordable and has become more of a draw than a deterrent for prospective home buyers."

Irv