It looks like a lot of US homeowners have flown south for the global pandemic.

This is illustrated in a new LendingTree Loan Market report, which tracked users opening mortgages between March 1, 2020 and September 21, 2021. The company’s data allowed it to visualize the movement patterns of buyers. home during the pandemic housing boom – and according to its Intel, Florida was the top destination for those who migrated out of state.

Mortgage buyers in 18 of the 50 states favored the Sunshine State. New southerners flocked to it from as far away as South Dakota, Wisconsin and Maine, but it also drew relative inhabitants from Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. It’s not hard to guess why: With its sandy beaches, warm waters, affordable housing, and zero income tax, Florida has long been a favorite haunt for retirees. But now, with many early career workers freed from office campuses by the pandemic’s forced digital revolution, these masses are free to move where they want, when they want.

In the past year and a half, Florida has welcomed new residents, including 3.6% of all mortgage buyers in Vermont and 2.6% of those in Maryland, data from LendingTree suggests.

But for the most part, the movements were on a smaller scale. The vast majority of mortgage borrowers – around 85% – have remained in the same state where they currently live. This was especially true in Texas, where 93% of residents looking to relocate kept it local. What can we say? The Lone Star State has pride and a zero income tax policy. It was the second destination for emigrants, favored by nine states, including Louisiana, California and Alaska.

Meanwhile, the state with the highest percentage of defectors was New York, with 27% of mortgage buyers seeking to leave the state, mostly for greener pastures in New Jersey, it seems.

View the full report here.