With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to impact the country, some businesses and residents have sought to move out of larger cities in favor of less densely populated areas.
A new report from Apartmentlist.com, however, shows that at least for apartment rentals, the data varies by region.
Olyvia Ruhlmann, a spokesperson for Apartmentlist.com, said the listings website analyzed data on the location preferences of millions of Apartment List users.
“The findings do not paint a picture of a widespread urban exodus,” Ruhlmann said. “In fact, nationally, we find that the share of users looking to move to a higher-density city has increased since the start of the pandemic, while the share searching in a less densely populated location fell.”
[Read more: Hartford apartment leasing slowed by COVID-19 crisis]
The report shows that searches for apartments targeting higher density cities rose from 33.8% to 35.2%.
According to the report, its search data shows a “more nuanced account of COVID-19’s impact on housing choice.”
Users have been slightly more likely to search in cities with higher population density than where they currently live, according to the report.
However, in some markets, there has been a shift away from downtown, such as in Boston and Chicago.
