38% of renters in Los Angeles, Orange County looking at out-of-town apartments

Are local renters getting antsy to leave town?

According to a study by Apartment List, 38% of Los Angeles and Orange Counties searches involved locals looking at units out of the two-county region. Only seven of the 25 metro areas studied had a higher level of out-of-town searches.

To be fair, searches do not mean departures. Renters are frequent movers so folks using internet search tools can be price shopping, dreaming … or seriously pondering relocation. And while one website’s activity isn’t a definitive picture, the study offers clues about how the local apartment market is viewed locally, regionally and nationally.

So where else are locals looking on Apartment List? Lower-cost locales were popular. Phoenix was No. 1 with 17% of those searches followed by the Inland Empire at 14%; then San Diego and Las Vegas at 10%.

Now, 42% of all searches of local rental units come from out-of-towners. Who’s looking to come here? The Inland Empire is No. 1 at 19%, then came Phoenix at 16%. Next were two places that make local rentals look relatively cheap: New York at 6% and San Francisco at 4%.

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When my trusty spreadsheet contrasted the outbound looks to the inbound searches it found Los Angeles and Orange counties with a “net” score of 4% more ins vs. outs — No. 14 of the 25 metros tracked. That’s a middle-of-the pack grade.

Here are the national leaders and laggards from Apartment List’s report …

Who’s looking out of town the most? Orlando with 55% of non-local searches; then Detroit at 50% and San Francisco at 46%.

Least-likely to relocate? Minneapolis had the lowest share of outbound searches at 20%; then San Diego at 24% and Phoenix at 25%.

What are the most popular towns? Tampa had 63% of its searches come from out-of-towners; then Denver at 55% and Baltimore at 52%.

Least interest? Only 22% of searches for Detroit or New York came from out of town; then Chicago at 23%.

Most inbound looks vs. outbound? Best “net” score was Tampa, Florida at 35% more looks in than out; then San Diego (plus 26%) and Denver (plus 25%).

Most outbound looks vs. inbound? Least popular was Detroit at -28%; then Chicago (-20%) and New York (-16%).