About this tool
The Arbitrage chart shows where home sellers move and what they gain when they buy a new home in a different metro area. It compares the old and new homes on square footage, estimated home value, walkability and neighborhood income. This helps show where people are moving and whether they may be getting better value for their housing.
- Shows
- The Housing Arbitrage Index, which measures what home buyers gain in square footage, estimated home value, walkscore and neighborhood income when they move between metro areas. Moves are shown between origin and destination areas and as quarterly trends.
- Places
- Metro areas, Census tracts
Questions it answers
- Where are people who sell homes in one metro area moving to?
- Do people who move between metro areas end up with more square footage in their new home?
- How does the estimated value of a new home compare with the home the buyer left?
- Do movers end up in higher-income or more walkable neighborhoods?
- How have moves between two metro areas changed from quarter to quarter?
Limits
- Moves are traced for individual home sellers who filed a change of address, so the chart does not capture every move.
- Home values are automated estimates, not appraisals.
- The most recent, incomplete quarter is left out.