Home Buyers Abandoned These Cities in Droves Last Year

San Francisco

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San Francisco
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On the Move

The pandemic’s effects continue to ripple across the real-estate market, driving up prices and keeping homes in short supply. It turns out that 2020 also saw a dramatic shift in where home buyers want to be, with many eschewing higher-priced, densely populated cities in favor of smaller, more affordable locations across the country. Here are the metro areas home buyers abandoned last year as ranked by loan application counts, according to real-estate analytics firm CoreLogic, and the ones where buyers decided to settle instead. 


Related: Which State Has Grown the Most in the Past 10 Years?

San Diego
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Chicago Skyline aerial view
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Boston, Massachusetts, USA cityscape with the State House
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Fewer Buyers: Boston

Rank: 8

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $664,457

Seattle and Mount Rainier
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Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach. Aerial View
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Fewer Buyers: Miami

Rank: 6

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $471,191

Washington D.C.
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Fewer Buyers: Washington

Rank: 5

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $573,598

San Jose, California
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Fewer Buyers: San Jose, California

Rank: 4

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $1,567,050

The Painted Ladies of San Francisco, California. USA.
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Fewer Buyers: San Francisco

Rank: 3

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $1,266,711

Los Angeles
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Fewer Buyers: Los Angeles

Rank: 2

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $989,157

Central Park and 59th Street Manhattan New York City USA
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Fewer Buyers: New York City

Rank: 1

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $656,214

Dallas city skyline, Texas
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More Buyers: Dallas

Rank: 10

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $343,968

Front view of City Hall in Deltona, Florida
Front view of City Hall in Deltona, Florida by Artystyk386 (CC BY-SA)

More Buyers: Deltona, Florida

Rank: 9

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $298,269

San Antonio
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More Buyers: San Antonio

Rank: 8

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $288,887

Jacksonville Florida Aerial
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More Buyers: Jacksonville, Florida

Rank: 7

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $319,559

Aerial image Port St Lucie Florida
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More Buyers: Port St. Lucie, Florida

Rank: 6

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $324,110

Tampa, Florida
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More Buyers: Tampa, Florida

Rank: 5

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $348,849

Skyline of Las Vegas city
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More Buyers: Las Vegas

Rank: 4

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $372,974

Summer scene in Myrtle Beach SC USA
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More Buyers: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Rank: 3

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $280,949

Downtown Lakeland, Florida
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More Buyers: Lakeland, Florida

Rank: 2

Average metro-area home price in 2020: $260,174

Riverside, California
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