Increasingly, Americans searching for homes in 87 of the nation's 100 largest metros are out-of-towners rather than locals – and five of the top metros where this is happening are also seeing a surge in AI-powered jobs, data center expansions and power infrastructure growth.
A report by Realtor.com analyzes online views – not transactions – of houses in the largest metros. In 4Q 2025, 61.9% of views were from out-of-area shoppers. This compares with 48.6% in 2019, pre-pandemic, and signals a structural shift in demand, the report states. The Southeast received the highest share of out-of-market interest.
In Midwestern metros, views by outsiders averaged 55.8%; in the Northeast, the share was 62.1%. Realtor said the high share in the Northeast could be due to existing homeowners being reluctant to move, thereby increasing the percentage of interested out-of-towners relative to locals. Nevertheless, the Northeast saw the highest growth in demand from out-of-town viewers.
"Over the past six years, Southern metros have consistently attracted the highest share of out-of-market buyers," the report noted.
In 4Q 2025, non-locals represented 64.6% of online viewers in the South and 61.7% in the West. Metros like Cape Coral, Lakeland, Durham, Sarasota and Poughkeepsie led the pack.
Only 13 of the largest metros were dominated by local buyers. In New York City, only 26.4% of potential buyers were from outside the metro. In Chicago, the share was 27.7%, in Dallas-Fort Worth, 32.1%, in Atlanta 38.6% and in Washington, DC, 39.4%. Other metros where local buyers dominated were Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Jose, St. Louis, Denver and Indianapolis.
Nevertheless, each of these markets has seen a decline in local engagement share compared to 2019, the report noted. It said this showed that out-of-market buyers were playing a growing role in these metros and that the gap between local and non-local demand had narrowed considerably. It found a 50/50 balance in Indianapolis, Denver and St. Louis.
The biggest swings from local to out-of-town buyers occurred in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Omaha and Detroit.
"Interestingly, the top five metros are experiencing a surge in AI-driven jobs, data center expansions, and power infrastructure growth," the report noted.
"San Francisco is seeing renewed outside interest fueled by an AI rebound. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are benefiting from multibillion-dollar investments in AI- and cloud-focused data centers across Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, booming data center and infrastructure projects in Omaha and Detroit are drawing more out-of-market buyers to these fast-growing, opportunity-rich regions."
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