2026 ideal-LIVING Relocation Trends Report: What Today’s Buyers Want

Where are people thinking about moving—and what matters most when they choose where to live?

The 2026 ideal-LIVING Relocation Trends Report provides insight into the priorities, preferences, and concerns of relocation-minded adults exploring their next place to live.

Based on ideal-LIVING audience research, the findings reveal an important shift: today's relocation decision is about much more than finding a house. Buyers are considering how a destination will affect their lifestyle, finances, relationships, and everyday quality of life.

What Are the Top Relocation Trends in 2026?

ideal-LIVING's 2026 research points to five significant trends:

1. Lifestyle is helping drive destination decisions.
2. Walkability, wellness, and social connection matter.
3. Many buyers are considering more than traditional 55+ communities.
4. Uncertainty about where to move is delaying decisions.
5. Buyers want transparency and opportunities to experience communities firsthand.

Together, these findings suggest relocation-minded adults are evaluating not simply where they can afford to live, but where they believe they can live well.

Where Are People Considering Moving?

The Southeast continues to attract significant interest among ideal-LIVING respondents.

North Carolina and South Carolina generated the strongest destination interest, with approximately 53%–63% of respondents considering the Carolinas. Florida and Georgia followed at approximately 41%–47%, while Tennessee attracted interest from roughly 16%–27%.

Mid-Atlantic destinations also remained in consideration for approximately 17%–24% of respondents.

These results don't necessarily mean everyone is headed to the same handful of states. Instead, they demonstrate the importance of comparing destinations based on individual priorities such as climate, taxes, cost of living, recreation, amenities, and proximity to family.

What Amenities Do Relocation Buyers Want?

Community amenities aren't simply extras. For many prospective residents, they help define everyday life.

ideal-LIVING's research found:

• 65% value walkability
• 58% value social opportunities
• 57% prioritize wellness
• 40% value waterfront-related features

The findings suggest that today's buyers are looking beyond the home itself.

Walking trails, opportunities to meet people, fitness and wellness facilities, water access, recreation, and other shared amenities can play an important role in deciding whether a community feels like the right fit.

Do Buyers Still Want 55+ Communities?

Not exclusively.

Only 34% of respondents specifically preferred a 55+ community, while approximately 22% expressed interest in multigenerational communities and 44% reported no particular preference.

That is an important distinction.

Age-restricted communities remain attractive to a significant portion of the market, but many relocation-minded adults appear to be choosing communities based more broadly on lifestyle, amenities, location, and social environment.

For developers and communities, the takeaway is clear: age alone shouldn't define how today's relocation buyer is understood.

What Kind of Lifestyle Are Buyers Looking For?

When asked about lifestyle preferences:

• 38% favored an active and social lifestyle
• 22% preferred resort-style living
• 18% were drawn to private and tranquil settings

There is no single definition of the “ideal” lifestyle.

Some buyers want neighbors, clubs, activities, and an active calendar. Others want privacy, scenery, and quiet. Still others want resort amenities available when they choose to use them.

The strongest community fit occurs when the destination supports how someone genuinely wants to spend their time.

What Is Preventing People From Moving?

One of the most revealing findings involves what is keeping prospective movers from taking the next step.

Approximately 44% cited uncertainty about where to relocate as a factor delaying their move, while about 38% cited family considerations.

This suggests that many people aren't necessarily questioning whether they want a change.

They may simply not know where to go.

For relocation-minded adults, the challenge can be turning dozens—or hundreds—of possibilities into a manageable shortlist.

Destination research, comparison tools, conversations with community representatives, relocation events, and firsthand visits can all help reduce that uncertainty.

How Soon Are People Planning to Move?

Relocation is often a longer decision process than a traditional home search.

ideal-LIVING's research found approximately:

• 19%–20% are considering a move within 6–12 months
• 35%–36% are looking approximately 1–2 years ahead
• 37% expect their move may be more than two years away

This reinforces an important point: people often begin exploring destinations years before they actually relocate.

The early stages aren't necessarily about finding a house. They're about learning, comparing, visiting, and deciding where the next chapter should happen.

What Helps Buyers Trust a Community?

Today's relocation buyers want information—and they want confidence in that information.

Among ideal-LIVING respondents:

• 66% valued transparent pricing
• 58% valued testimonials
• 51% considered in-person tours important

These findings suggest buyers want both information and validation.

Online research can introduce a community, but transparent information, experiences from other residents, and opportunities to see a place firsthand can help people become more comfortable with a decision.

What Does the 2026 Research Tell Us?

The biggest takeaway from ideal-LIVING's 2026 research is simple:

Relocation is increasingly a lifestyle decision.

Home prices matter. Taxes matter. Climate matters.

But so do walkability, wellness, friendships, recreation, amenities, family, and the way a community feels when you experience it for yourself.

For people considering relocation, retirement, or a second home, the process doesn't have to begin with:

“Where should I move?”

A better starting question may be:

“How do I want to live?”

Once you understand that, finding the places that can make that lifestyle possible becomes much easier.

About the ideal-LIVING Relocation Trends Report

The ideal-LIVING Relocation Trends Report draws on feedback from ideal-LIVING's relocation-minded audience to identify emerging preferences, priorities, and considerations influencing where people are thinking about living.

ideal-LIVING has helped people explore destinations and communities for decades through relocation resources, community discovery, publications, events, and firsthand travel opportunities.

Source: ideal-LIVING 2026 audience research.