Over the past ten years North Carolina has become one of the most popular states for people who live in states where the cost of living has increased too rapidly. The appeal of more spacious areas, smaller population density, lower cost of living and new opportunities for income made the state a beacon to many looking to relocate.
Businesses and residents from other states like Florida, New York, Texas and California have moved there for several reasons but mainly because their states have become over crowded, too expensive to live in, focused on younger generations and drastic changes to local and statewide legislation.
North Carolina easily benefited from this and saw home sales and new business growth at rates higher than almost any other state. It seems they became the haven for those who live in states where everyone else wanted to move to. So, can we expect Virginia to be next?
A possible surge in out of state residents relocating to the Old Dominion would lead to a major influx in business growth, especially in construction. New residents often means a boost in real estate and property renovation. Someone who was paying $2,000 a month to rent a place can afford a home twice that size and also afford major renovations simply by moving from one state to another.
In the past, this transition has also shown a major boost to local economies and VA may already be trending in that direction as home sales were up over 10% in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic. The question will be whether this will lead to businesses transporting themselves to VA or if it means a growth in new business.
Traditionally, states benefit more from transport growth in the commercial sector rather than new business growth because more established businesses are able to last longer and require more new hires.
Virginia has seen an increase in transport business growth which also is great for the construction industry as these businesses will demand larger properties and upgrades to accommodate their efforts.
As the pandemic hopefully comes to an end this year, there’s no doubt that Virginia could see a rapid influx of out of state money matching that of North Carolina over the past decade. That would not only be great for local residents and businesses but it could lead to a major boom in the economy that pulls the state out of the recession faster than other states.
