Thousands of Americans fled from New York to Florida during the pandemic to escape high taxes and crime rates, and that hot trend is proving to stand the heat, according to one real estate adviser.
"This trend is going to continue. You already have 10,000 New Yorkers that have fled the state, it's April of 2023, and already in the first quarter, you've seen that many people get out of the state. I see it every day," Sotheby’s International Realty associate Jenna Stauffer said on "Mornings with Maria" Monday.
"So many people are moving to Florida," she continued. "So this isn't just a pandemic trend. This is a trend that I think is really going to continue."
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis told Fox News Digital last month that 900 new residents move to the Sunshine State every day, migrating from states "you would predict they would come from" such as New York, New Jersey and Illinois.
U.S. HOUSING AFFORDABILITY HELL ‘CAN’T BEAT' THE FLORIDA HEAT
In 2022, Florida saw the biggest rush of new residents migrating from predominantly blue states with steep taxes, with about 319,000 Americans making the move there, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. That amounts to a population increase of nearly 2% – well above the 0.4% national growth rate recorded in the U.S. between July 2021 and July 2022.
On the other hand, Democrat-led states including California, Illinois and New York saw the biggest declines in population while being home to some of the highest tax burdens in the U.S.
Staffuer claimed homebuyers are continuing to seek out their best "quality of life" options.
"What they're finding here in Florida, they're finding lower taxes. They're finding the state tends to be more pro-business, which is what they want. Quality of life is just still such a big factor for a lot of buyers out there, especially the cash buyers, your high-net individuals," Stauffer said.
The real estate market also largely depends on disruptors or instabilities within other economic indicators.
"Right now, I think that the economy just continues to be cold in so many directions: persistent inflation, geopolitical uncertainties, the looming recession, interest rates – these are still factors that are keeping a lot of buyers on the sidelines right now in the housing market," the Sotheby’s associate said. "It's really sending mixed signals."
Home builder confidence for new single-family homes in April rose a single point to 45, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported on Monday. While the monthly statistic might’ve risen slightly, Stauffer warned the annual number is still nearly a quarter of a percentage down.
"You're seeing sellers that are more flexible, yet buyers, they don't have a lot of homes to choose from. And prices are softening in some markets, yet affordability is still remaining a very big issue," she pointed out.
"And then, of course, there's a big division that we're seeing right now: the market is bifurcated," Stauffer added. "So you are seeing price declines on the West Coast, and then you're seeing price gains in the south due to strong job growth and also strong immigration."
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Florida cities like Sarasota, Bradenton and Palm Beach have reportedly been "bursting at the seams" with new neighbors. The state’s CFO claimed their infrastructure is prepared to provide for growing demographics.
"Our roads, our bridges, our infrastructure is in really good shape. But it's not a sprint, it's a march. Every single year you have to make those types of investments and commitments," Patronis previously said. "Right now, we're in the best fiscal health we've ever been in the history of the state with over $20 billion in reserves. We've never had this low of a debt-to-reserves ratio."
FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.
