An analysis of U-Haul rental rates suggests the migration trends to Southeast cities, Texas and Florida has continued in January and is broad based, according to analyst Rafe Jadrosich at BofA Securities. Jadrosich said he believes higher U-Haul rental rates for one-way routes compared with different routes with the same mileage, such as reverse moves, is an indication of migration shifts from city to city. “U-Haul rates are significantly higher moving to Southeast, Florida, Texas and inland Western cities compared to Midwest, Northeast and West Coast cities,” Jadrosich wrote. in a note to clients. One-way rentals to Southeast cities, such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh, cost 4.1 times the return routes, with the highest relative costs originating from Northeast cities including New York, Boston and Philadelphia. He said higher relative rates for moves to inland Western cities, such as Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas and Boise, are being primarily driven by migration from West Coast cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. And relatively high U-Haul rates show migration to Florida and Texas from a broad range of cities across the Northeast, Midwest and the West Coast. Jadrosich said homebuilders D.R. Horton Inc. DHI,
Source: Marketwatch
