Migration trends were a hot local topic a couple of years ago. Locals were keenly interested in who and how many people were moving here and why. Fast forward to today and the trends are not such a hot topic, but they still reveal some important information.

Locals have accepted the fact that the relocation outcome is not a dramatic threat to the local culture. And despite the talk about new residents from California and New York, most now understand many of the newcomers are from the South and almost as many are Tennessee residents. 

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of attention devoted to migration patterns – especially by the Realtor® family. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 42% of the U.S. migration is driven by housing reasons, 26% for family reasons, 16% for employment reasons and only 1% moved due to climate-related reasons. 

Local interviews show many of the region’s new residents moved here for the quality of life the region offers. On a larger scale, Census data provides information surrounding where Americans move and what drives those decisions. With this in mind, the National association of Realtors® (NAR) Research Committee decided to conduct a survey of its members to analyze the drivers and motivators of their clients moving to different areas.   

Among the key findings are: 

• Realtors® clients generally moved to a similar type of area (i.e. from one suburban area to another.) However, those moving from central city/urban area (41%) and resort area (44%) most often moved to a suburban area. 
• In 2024, Realtors® reported that 36% of their clients moved to a different state. However, the majority moved intrastate: 21% moved within the same city, 21% moved to a different city in the same area, and 21% moved to a different area within their state. 

Although the NAR study didn’t get down to the local level, the history of local moves has traditionally found a significant shift between local cities. For instance, Kingsport’s largest contributor has often been Johnson City and Johnson City has traditionally seen a large number of former Kingsport residents. 

The type of home new residents buy or want to buy is prime Realtor® concern. Here’s what the NAR survey found out about the reasons clients who moved to the South chose to buy a specific home: 

• Outdoor space 42% 
• More square feet needed 29% 
• More walkability/neighborhood amenities 20% 
• Better work commute 16% 
• Les square feet needed 10% 
• Better access to parks/tails 7% 
• Better access to highways 4% 
• Closer to health facilities 6% 
• Closer to airport/train 1% 

The study also found that job location did not play a role in the purchase decision for 43% as they continue to work remotely, while job location did influence 37% of movers who worked at least some of the time from in-officers.  

Movers to the South were most likely to report that job location did not play a role as they were working remotely. That finding hits home for local migration trend since the number of locals who work from home has increased to 10% of the region’s local workforce.  

The Johnson City metro area – which attracts the most new residents – has the highest share of work from home residents in NE TN and the second highest share in East TN. 

Although much of the NAR findings counters the reports on why local newcomers selected the Tri-Cities region, Realtors® keep their fingers on the pulse of the national, regional, and local migration trends so they have a complete and well-rounded knowledge of the trends. It’s why they are the experts on the real estate industry.