Out-of-State Buyers Drive Demand for New Southern Homes

The influx of cross-metro interest is most pronounced in the South, where buyers frequently seek homes priced at or below the national median. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida, topped the list with 83.1% of views coming from outside the region, followed closely by Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Port St. Lucie. According to Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner, these buyers are actively looking beyond their immediate surroundings to secure more attainable lifestyle options.

To capture this distant demand, builders are employing aggressive pricing strategies. While the national median listing price for new construction remained steady at $450,256 during the second quarter, builders are increasingly utilizing price reductions to address a buyer base sensitive to cost. Specifically, 20% of new-construction listings saw price cuts, a share that consistently outpaces existing-home sellers. This hands-on approach is particularly evident in markets like San Antonio, Texas, where over half of all new-home listings underwent price adjustments to attract interest from out-of-towners migrating from more expensive coastal hubs like Miami, New York, and San Jose.