As California’s residents continue leaving, seeking refuge in states with more affordable housing and little to no income tax, at least one broker is taking advantage of the trend.
“I love California. I think California is a great place to live,” said Mark Moskowitz, a broker at Keller Williams in Westlake Village who serves mainly the Conejo and San Fernando valleys. “Unfortunately, a lot of our clients are deciding to move out of California.”
Moskowitz and his team of five have designed six educational programs to make the process of selling, buying and investing in real estate easier to navigate. But one – which he started marketing earlier this year – helps California residents move out of state.
The population of California dropped by half a million just within the last two years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates, released in February.
“The reality of California is that it’s getting so expensive a lot of younger people can no longer afford to live here,” Moskowitz said. “We’re also finding it’s very expensive to retire here…other states are offering families and retirees a lot more and a lot more affordable lifestyle.”
The high cost of living, coupled with such things as homelessness, traffic and overall congestion, have led people to flee the Golden State. Other factors, like Covid-19, have also played a role in fueling the mass exodus, as the ability to work remotely has become the new norm.
Moving out
Moskowitz acts as a consultant to his clients by coordinating entire out-of-state moves. From helping to sell properties, connecting clients to top agents in their new cities to helping them purchase their new homes and providing answers to logistical questions they maybe haven’t considered, his goal is to streamline the process with hopes of alleviating some of the stress that often comes with moving.
His services come at no cost, beyond the normal commission associated with buying and selling homes.
He also makes a referral fee by connecting clients to local agents in their new cities, whether they be Keller Williams brokers or not.
Another factor many homeowners are now considering is high interest rates, which have also stunted sales in California.
“What’s interesting is that normally when interest rates are high, prices start to go down. But in fact, prices in L.A. are going up right now,” he said. “Because we have extremely low inventory – especially in our most desirable neighborhoods and cities – there’s a huge shortage of homes because sellers aren’t putting their homes on the market. And because of that, buyers are having to pay the higher interest rates and the higher prices.”
On any given month, Moskowitz helps one to three families relocate, although he noted that number may increase as the program continues to grow.
And while the type of residential relocation program Moskowitz offers is somewhat unusual, he is not the only one creating a business out of California’s declining numbers.
Other companies
Scott Fuller is the founder of Leaving SoCal and Leaving the Bay Area, two organizations that also help ex-Californians with residential relocation.
The two companies were founded after Fuller moved his own family from California to Arizona a few years back, after spending nearly three decades along California’s coast.
It was “the cost of living and the taxes” that pushed him over the edge, although Fuller also noted, “having been in and worked in California for so long, I just saw a lot of changes that I didn’t think were right for my family.”
Much like Moskowitz, Fuller acts as a consultant to take clients through the process of moving out of state, which he is able to do remotely.
“Most of the people that we’re working with, they’re not looking to me to give them reasons why they should move,” Fuller said. “They’ve already developed those themselves. They’re looking for solutions.”
Large companies also have been relocating headquarters. Since 2020, 63 major companies have said goodbye to California, with such notable firms as Charles Schwab, Oracle, Chevron, CBRE Group Inc. and Tesla all heading to Texas, according to Buildremote, a San Diego organization that compiled a list of all the companies that have left the state in that time.
While neither Moskowitz nor Fuller encourage people to leave the Golden State, they understand factors like high taxes and heavy congestion create a high demand for out-of-state migration, and they want to make sure each of their clients’ unique desires are met.
“California offers a lot to a lot of different people and has a lot of variety, which is amazing,” Moskowitz concluded. “We just want to make sure you’re in the right neighborhood for you.”