Domestic migration (excluding international immigration) is the most direct future-housing-demand signal available. People physically moving INTO a state will form households there within 1-3 years, driving HPI, rents, retail, and home-improvement demand. The Sun Belt vs. high-tax-coastal divergence has been the dominant story for 15 years.
Positive = net inflow of US residents from other states; negative = net outflow. International immigration excluded so this isolates pure domestic preference signal.
IRS SOI publishes county-to-county migration as raw counts, available for the most recent filing year. Below shows the top 10 counties in the selected state by net domestic inflow and outflow (% of county population). Available for select high-coverage states only; drop a list if your state isn’t there yet.
Year-by-year noise drops out; the structural pattern is clear.