The Great Northeast Shift — Where Affordability Is Redrawing the Map
⚡ What the Data Says
Affordability has officially become the sorting hat of the 2025 housing market.
Realtor.com’s new Affordability Reset Index (Oct 2025) ranks Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire among the five least affordable states in the U.S. — just behind California and Hawaii.
But here’s the twist: even inside those states, buyers are shifting within the region — out of traditional metros like Boston, Newton, and Brookline, and toward more affordable towns in Worcester, Bristol, and Plymouth Counties and Northern Rhode Island.
This migration isn’t mass exodus; it’s micro-optimization — families trading convenience for cost balance. And for agents, it's an opportunity: following affordability is the new way to find both listings and buyers.
The key thing to remember about these charts is that they demonstrate affordability by the income of the people in that specific area. So while Boston-Cambridge-Newton shows an affordability score of 0.56 and Providence-Warwick shows an affordability score of 0.44, people moving from Boston, etc will find far more affordable homes in the Providence area because of their higher income level – their dollar will go farther.
💵 The Cost Divide: Metro vs. Outer Ring (Oct 2025)
(Sources: Realtor.com Market Trends, Redfin Data Center, MLS PIN, Statewide MLS, Oct 2025)
📉 Translation: moving 30–40 miles west or south can reduce a buyer’s monthly cost by $1,500–$2,000 — even at the same interest rate.
🌍 The Migration Map: Where Buyers Are Going
Boston → Worcester County: Nearly 1 in 5 Boston-area buyers searched Worcester listings in Q3 (Redfin migration tool).
Norfolk → Bristol / Plymouth: Commuter lines and new mixed-use downtowns in Taunton, Middleboro, and Easton have made these towns “move-down” favorites.
MA → RI: Inflows to northern RI (Lincoln, Cumberland, Smithfield) rose 11% year-over-year — the highest interstate gain since 2019!
Coastal RI → Inland RI: Providence, Johnston, and Coventry now outsell Narragansett and Newport for the first time since pre-pandemic years.
It’s not that buyers have stopped wanting location — they’re simply recalculating
🧭 What This Means for Agents
This migration is the affordability version of the 80/20 rule:
20% of ZIPs are now capturing 80% of inbound buyer activity — and they’re not the ZIPs you’d expect.
💡 Action Items for Agents:
Map Your Buyer Outflows. Ask: Where are my buyers looking when they say “more space, same payment”?
Adjust Your Lead Ads and SEO. If you run search campaigns, include both “Boston suburb” and “MA–RI border” phrases (e.g., “homes near Providence, under 500K”).
Cross-License Strategy. Dual MA/RI licensees are best positioned — your ability to serve migration patterns doubles your potential deal flow.
Educate Sellers. Outbound sellers need context — “Where are your buyers going?” is the new pricing conversation.
Feature Affordability Angles in Marketing. Replace “Luxury Homes in Norfolk” with “Smart Moves in Northern RI.” It speaks to the market mood.
💬 Agent Takeaway
Perry Marshall teaches “diversify intelligently” — and the market’s doing exactly that.
Homebuyers are scaling back, diversifying their search radius, and testing new geographies through the same kaizen process you should be applying to your business.
Follow the data. Track the migration. And remember: the agents who expand with the market — not after it — get there first.
