Many Miami residents are looking at other cities to buy a home: report

There’s no question that Miami has seen a serious slowdown in home sales during recent months. But a new factor could have an impact on that issue: according to a new report from Zillow, nearly half of Miami’s home shoppers are looking outside the city for a new pad.

Using search data from its own website, the listing service found 49 percent of Miamians looking for a home were checking out other cities in June.

The report said affordability concerns were a big factor in driving homebuyers away from Miami toward more accessible cities. Recent studies show a growing divide between stagnant salaries and ever-rising home prices in Miami, and South Florida in general.

(Click to enlarge) How inbound and outbound home search stack up in U.S. cities

However, Zillow cautioned that its analysis doesn’t mean Miami is on the eve of seeing a large exodus: people often use listing websites like Zillow to check out their dream properties or even celebrity homes. The trend also isn’t unique to Miami, as about 41 percent of Zillow’s users tend to look at homes outside their metropolitan area.

Even so, Miami ranked 10th in the nation for cities whose residents would rather look at homes outside, rather than inside, their borders. At the top was San Antonio, Texas, where 54 percent of Zillow users preferred homes outside the city. — Sean Stewart-Muniz