Census reports nearly 10 percent of Americans want to move

A recent United State Census Bureau report shows that 9.6 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with their current housing, neighborhood, local safety or public services to the point that they desire to move.

But will they? According to the report, while the majority of those who desire to move do not move within the next year, their rate of moving is higher than that of the general population, which is 18.3 percent compared with 9.6 percent.

What population is looking to move? Typically, renters are more likely to want to move. Additionally, “desiring to move is associated with younger age and with lower income,” according to the report. Neighborhood poverty levels and racial composition are also key components to their desire to stay or move.

There are other factors that affect a person’s desire to move, such as changes in family composition, whether it be marriage, divorce or birth of a child.

Interestingly, when looking over data from 2010 to 2011, researches discovered that 89,000 of the nearly 1.7 million older homeowners who had said they desired to move actually moved. However, of those who had desired to move and actually did, they reported greater residential satisfaction with their new home versus their old home.

“Despite rapid changes in the housing market since 2008, the overall trend toward increased residential satisfaction and decreased desire to move has continued, and the rate of residential moves has declined,” the report stated.

However, with housing sales and the economy on the rise, will those who desire to move finally take the plunge? Home sales are on the rise, and higher than this time last year, according to The National Association of Realtors®. It looks like 2015 may be the year those dissatisfied with their current housing will begin checking the real estate listings.