Brokers’ Focus: Helping Californians Leave State

More than 500,000 residents have poured out of California since the pandemic, often in search of cheaper homes. Now real estate brokers have stepped in to ease the exodus.

Agents in Los Angeles and out of state have set up shop to help clients move away from the Golden State, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal reported.

“I love California. I think California is a great place to live,” Mark Moskowitz, a broker at Keller Williams in Westlake Village who serves mainly the Conejo and San Fernando valleys, told the newspaper. “Unfortunately, a lot of our clients are deciding to move out of California.”

Moskowitz and five fellow brokers have designed six educational programs to make the process of selling, buying and investing in real estate easier to navigate.

One, which he started this year, helps Californians leave the state.

Moskowitz helps clients by coordinating out-of-state moves — from selling local properties to linking clients with top agents in new cities to helping them buy new homes.

His goal, he says, is to streamline the process and alleviate the stress that comes with moving.

His services come at no cost — beyond the normal commission associated with buying and selling homes.

He also makes a referral fee by connecting clients to local agents in their new cities, whether they be Keller Williams brokers or not. In any given month, Moskowitz helps one to three families relocate, with those numbers expected to grow.

“The reality of California is that it’s getting so expensive, a lot of younger people can no longer afford to live here,” Moskowitz told the Business Journal. “We’re also finding it’s very expensive to retire here. … Other states are offering families and retirees a lot more and a lot more affordable lifestyle.”

More than 500,000 residents moved out of California during the pandemic, where the population drop was second only to New York, according to U.S. Census figures. Los Angeles lost nearly 3 percent of its population, or 300,000 people.

While the residential relocation program Moskowitz offers is unusual, he is not the only one doing business from the state’s declining numbers.

Scott Fuller founded Leaving SoCal and Leaving the Bay Area, two companies that help Californians move. He launched both after moving to Arizona after spending nearly three decades along California’s coast.

It was “the cost of living and the taxes” that pushed him over the edge, Fuller said. “Having been in and working in California for so long, I just saw a lot of changes that I didn’t think were right for my family.”

Much like Moskowitz, Fuller serves as a guide for clients interested in moving out of state, which he does remotely.

— Dana Bartholomew