Negative Equity = Fewer State-to-State Movers

How big of an impact does negative housing equity have on geographic mobility across state lines? That is one of the questions asked in a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. After massaging data on housing equity and state-to-state mobility for the years 2006 to 2009, the researchers determined that negative equity reduced the number of individuals moving across state lines by an estimated 110,000-150,000 annually--a decline of 2 to 3 percent. In other words, negative equity has an impact--albeit a small one--on mobility across state lines.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Are American Homeowners Locked into their Houses? The Impact of Housing Market Conditions on State-to-State Migration