The typical American homeowner has spent 13.2 years in their home as of last year. That’s according to new data out from Redfin, which found that, while tenure is slightly down from the peak of 13.5 years in 2020, it’s up significantly from 10.1 years in 2012.
But one state has a number of cities that far exceed the national average when it comes to homeownership—California!
Redfin found that due in large part to the state’s unique property tax laws, coupled with more and more older homeowners aging in residence, Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Fresno, Anaheim, Riverside and San Diego all have longer home tenure tracks than the average metro area outside of the Golden State.
The typical Los Angeles homeowner has spent 18 years in their home as of 2021, the longest tenure of the metros Redfin examined. It’s followed by Honolulu and Oxnard, CA, both with median tenures of 17 years.
The typical amount of times homeowners held onto their homes in each of those metros increased by roughly four years in the last decade.
According to Redfin, homeowner tenure flattened last year in part because so many Americans moved during the pandemic. Additionally, remote work led to a record share of Americans relocating, often to more affordable areas.