The Metros Where AI Jobs and Data Centers Are Displacing Local Homebuyers

In 39 of the nation's top 100 metros, the end of 2025 saw local homebuyers being decisively outshopped by newcomers seeking a fresh start, with demand flipping from locally driven to out-of-market dominated.

Nationally, nearly 62% of online listing views on Realtor.com® in the top 100 metros came from out-of-market shoppers in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 47% six years prior, according to the latest cross- market demand report from Realtor.com economists.

Out of the 100 largest housing markets in the U.S., 87 were driven by external demand, with affordable Sun Belt metros like Cape Coral and Lakeland, FL, at the forefront.

In contrast, local shoppers had the upper hand in only 13 high-priced markets, led by New York City, which remains largely inaccessible to outside buyers due to its high cost of entry. As of January, the median asking price in the Big Apple stood at $749,000.

Five metros, ranging from ultra-expensive to ultra-affordable, stood out for experiencing the most dramatic shifts toward out-of-market demand: San Francisco; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Omaha, NE; and Detroit.  

"We’re definitely seeing more out-of-state interest in Detroit and some of the surrounding suburbs," Erica Collica Swink, associate broker at Detroit-Max Broock Realtors, tells Realtor.com. "Buyers are coming because the value proposition still makes sense here—you can get architectural character, land, or newer construction at price points that feel almost impossible in other markets."

According to Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu, the key unifying factor across these geographically and economically diverse markets is that all five are experiencing a surge in AI-related jobs, data center expansions, and energy infrastructure improvements.

This growth is acting as a magnet for outside homebuyers attracted by career opportunities, effectively crowding out local residents in the process.

San Francisco's AI-fueled comeback

After years of urban flight fueled by quality-of-life issues like homelessness and crime, San Francisco is turning a new leaf, in large part thanks to an AI boom that has been creating well-paying tech jobs drawing skilled professionals from around the U.S.

The Bay Area metro has cemented its status as a global AI hub, anchored by such industry leaders as OpenAI and Anthropic. 

The maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI has been steadily increasing its presence in San Francisco’s Mission Bay section, which could soon reach approximately 1 million square feet, according to recent reporting by the San Francisco Business Times.

Other prominent industry players headquartered in the area include Scale AI, Perplexity, and Glean. 

By the end of December 2025, the share of online traffic from out-of-market homebuyers in San Francisco climbed to nearly 59%, up from 33% six years ago, with a large share of views coming from even pricier San Jose, CA.

"In markets like San Francisco, where high-earning AI professionals exert broad upward pressure on prices, the demand is concentrated in premium, 'move-in ready' inventory," says Xu. "This effectively prices out local workers, widening the gap between luxury homes and entry-level stock." 

How tech infrastructure is reshaping Pennsylvania

On the East Coast, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have emerged as major AI- and cloud-based data center development hubs.

Last year, Google and private investment giant Blackstone each pledged to invest $25 billion in data centers and related infrastructure in Pennsylvania and neighboring states, earning praise from President Donald Trump. 

Some of Blackstone’s money will go toward redeveloping the abandoned Aliquippa steel mill into a high-density data center. 

Separately, Amazon announced a historic $20 billion investment in cloud computing, with multiple campuses planned across the state, including in Bucks County outside Philadelphia. 

Other plans in the region include the Homer City Redevelopment, which revolves around turning a former coal-burning power plant into a $10 billion data center complex powered by natural gas, and grid hardening to support the new high-tech hub. 

The steep growth in external demand for homes in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh reflect these recent shifts, with out-of-market traffic increasing from 28% to 53% in a span of six years in the City of Brotherly Love, and from 30.5% to 55% in Steel City.  

A significant portion of Philadelphia’s external housing demand originated in New York, while Washington, DC, served as the primary source of out-of-market interest for Pittsburgh.

Midwest emerges as a data center magnet

Not to be outdone, the Midwest has become a hive of activity involving technology infrastructure—and a magnet for investor dollars. 

Google invested $1.2 billion in Nebraska in 2023, with a sprawling new facility planned in northwest Omaha and an expansion to the company’s existing campus in the suburb of Papillion.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has a huge data center campus in Serapin County that uses up as much electricity as half the homes in Omaha, as The Washington Post reported in 2024. 

To accommodate constant AI training, the Omaha Public Power District is building new power stations in the area that run on natural gas or hydrogen. 

In Omaha, the share of out-of-market home shoppers increased to nearly 60% by the end of 2025, up from 36% in 2019.

"A tidal wave of data center capital has turned local land into gold, outcompeting residential developers for prime sites and leaving families with fewer housing options," says Xu. "This scarcity is sending new construction prices soaring, detaching the 'new' market from older, existing homes."

In the Detroit metro, OpenAI, Oracle, and Related Digital have teamed up to develop a $7 billion AI data center, known as the Stargate Michigan Campus. Once complete, it will feature three 550,000-square-foot buildings and will create 450 permanent high-skill positions. 

Over 1.4 gigawatts of power will be needed to operate the new hub, which is about the same amount required to keep the lights on in every home in Detroit. 

To make this endeavour possible, DTE Energy is boosting its investment plan to $36.5 billion over the next five years. That includes a $2 billion battery storage facility that will be funded by data center developers to secure the local grid without increasing local residents' electricity bills. 

Additionally, a $1.5 billion data center known as Metrobloks Southfield was recently approved in Southfield, MI, just north of Detroit. The proposed facility would be developed on approximately 12 acres of vacant land and consist of a two-story 218,000-square-foot building.

Detroit saw its external online traffic hit 52.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 29.2% six years earlier. 

"Most of the out-of-state buyers we’re seeing aren’t coming from the coasts as much as people might assume—it’s primarily Midwest migration," says Collica Swink. "Chicago is probably the biggest feeder market, along with parts of Ohio, Indiana, and occasionally the Twin Cities. These buyers already understand Midwest living, but Detroit offers more architectural character and stronger value at comparable price points."

The agent points out that relocation to Detroit is often tied to specific industries: automotive, health care, and increasingly tech connected to Ann Arbor, which is why suburbs like Lyon and Saline Townships show up on buyers' radar.

"And then there’s a smaller segment of remote professionals leaving higher-cost markets who realize they can get significantly more lifestyle and home quality here for the same budget," adds Collica Swink.

Similar to San Francisco, when outside capital enters Detroit, Collica Swink says it typically targets either move-in-ready historic homes in prime neighborhoods or entry-level properties that make sense as rentals.

"That creates tighter competition in those pockets and can push prices up faster than local wage growth, particularly for first-time buyers," she says. "That said, Detroit is still materially more affordable than most major metro areas. Even with appreciation, our price points remain accessible compared to national averages."

As of January, the median asking price in Detroit was just $235,000, nearly $165,000 below the national figure.

Overall, Xu points out that an influx of outside capital as seen in these five metros acts as a permanent "price floor," making property values resilient due to tech wealth, but at the same time threatening local affordability as housing costs detach from local wages.