A week ago, the U. S. Census Bureau released data showing that the percentage of the U. S. population that moved in 2008 was the lowest since the data was first tracked in 1948. In 2008, 11.9% of the population (35.2 million people) moved, compared with 13.2% (38.7 million people) in 2007.
Some interesting statistics were that people in the South (13.5%) and in the West (13.2%) were likeliest to move in 2008. Those in the Midwest had moving rates of 11.1% and in the Northeast 8.2%.
Relevant to your local market, 65% of those who moved in 2008 moved within the same county. And, 18% moved to a different county within the same state.
Understandably, renters were five times more likely to move than homeowners during 2008. The Census Bureau data revealed that 27% or more than one-in-four people living in renter-occupied housing units lived in a different residence one year earlier. By comparison, the mover rate of people living in owner-occupied housing units was just 5.4%.
Reasons people gave for moving were:
- housing related, such as the desire to own a home or live in a better neighborhood (40.1% or 14.1 million movers)
- family related (30.5%)
- employment related (20.9%)
- other (8.5%)
With this data in hand, what does it mean for your marketing dollars?
It’s easy to keep track of homeowners as they are more likely to stay put for longer. However, renters are always on the move. Do you know many of them are ready to make the move and purchase real estate? What are you doing to establish business relationships with renters in your area?
Or, do you target homeowners for referrals? And, how do you keep your contact information up-to-date in light of constant relocation?
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