How to Work With Out-Of-State Buyers: Tips for Real Estate Agents

As current market pressures ease activity in traditionally hot real estate markets, cities and communities able to campaign on affordability are now in the sights of homebuyers seeking less expensive alternatives, according to industry reports. 

Realtor.com called this category of homebuyers “affordability refugees” in an August 2026 study.

“Cross-market home searches on Realtor.com® topped 60% across the 100 largest U.S. metros this spring, up from roughly 48% in 2019, with housing affordability overwhelmingly dictating whether buyers stay or go,” the report found. “More than half of home shopping traffic in every region of the U.S. went to listings outside the local market.” 

Meanwhile, a June 2026 Redfin report found a similar trend, publishing statistics showing that “1 in 5 U.S. house hunters looked to relocate to a different metro area in the first quarter.

“A record portion of Americans are looking to relocate partly because of affordability pressures. Housing costs are near record highs because mortgage rates and sale prices remain stubbornly high, and inflation is pushing up the cost of living for other everyday expenses. That’s motivating people to move from expensive areas to more affordable areas,” Redfin said.

Affordability Is Sending Buyers Across Market Lines

Naturally, low-tax Sunbelt states are at the top of a number of lists, as are a number of Midwest municipalities.

This suggests agents in those emerging markets will be benefiting from the influx of aspiring buyers. 

However, pinning down leads from thousands of miles away isn’t as easy as buying space on a local bus bench or running some zip-coded campaigns on Meta. 

Beyond that, once a lead finds you, providing the right level of service to keep them requires an adjusted mindset, one that demands adoption of technology tools that automate communications, make sharing property options simple, and above all else, can be trusted as data sources.  

Out-of-Town Buyers Need More Than a Listing Link

Local buyers are already familiar with what most of their communities have to offer. They come to the agent already preferential to a school district, nearby parks, less busy trailheads, and the most efficient commuting corridors. The search process is often less cumbersome. 

However, out-of-town buyers need a good deal of time to learn what communities match their lifestyles. And the agent on the ground is looked upon as their source of truth. 

Heather Herr knows all about working across map boundaries. She’s the Founder and CEO of Private Real Estate Collection, operating in Kentucky, Ohio, and Florida. 

“Relocation requires a more intentional approach,” she told Land id. “It’s about helping buyers understand the personality, lifestyle, and nuances of each neighborhood while narrowing their priorities before they arrive.”

Herr said video conferencing is a simple, now widely accepted method for getting to know out-of-state buyers. “From there, we provide tailored virtual tours and create a highly efficient in-person visit plan when they come to town.”

Before an actual visit, Herr’s team spends a good deal of time feeling out the right communications cadence. Are they pressed for time because of a work commitment? Or, are they retiring in 18 months with more time to decide? Each scenario requires strategy, not merely reactionary outreach if a listing happens to come up. It’s better to wait for the right match than spam clients. They need to know you understand their specific needs. 

Still, you never want the client to “feel like they're sitting in another city scrolling through listings alone,” Herr said.

“Early in the process, we establish how they prefer to communicate, whether that's text, phone, email, video calls, or a combination, and create regular touchpoints around their search, new listings, market changes, and important decision points. We also keep them informed about coming soon and off-market opportunities they may not otherwise see.”

Help Buyers Experience a Market From Miles Away

Ryan Mathys sells homes in La Jolla, Pacific Beach, and similarly desirable areas of San Diego. He’s often working with outside buyers looking to retire along the market’s many scenic coastal communities. 

“We do a lot of walking videos for clients with the nitty-gritty parts of the property and area,” he said. Mathys will simply use his phone to record exterior breakdowns, and then do the same inside. And because the value of his primary markets is so driven by proximity to the ocean, he’s sure to tell them what bays and beaches are the easiest to reach. 

“We have stock aerial footage we can send sometimes to indicate distance, and naturally rely on maps and emailed property packages.”

Herr said that modern proptech applications are making the distance easier to cover. 

“It's certainly harder to get to know someone when you aren't sitting together in a conference room or walking through homes side by side, but with the right technology and frequent communication, we can get remarkably close,” she said. “We talk about commute, schools, walkability, architecture, dining, outdoor space and, ultimately, what they want their day-to-day life to feel like.”

In other words, it’s critical for out-of-town buyers to understand the full context of their pending new home. What’s around, under, and even above a home matters as much as price, flooring material, and curb appeal. 

How to Give Remote Buyers the Full Context of Any Property

It’s in this skill set that Land id AI Insights excels for real estate agents working with out-of-state buyers.

Send a Link to The Land id

‍The Land id—our first product using AI Insights—tells the story of any property across all 50 states in a single link, taking the guesswork out of discovering what turns a parcel number into a place to call home, from Key West to Nome. 

Instead of sending listing pages and links to “coming soons” that tend to promote what’s readily available but shallow in depth on other regional insights, smarter agents turn to whole-data solutions that educate and inform, that offer real-time narratives of what justifies a home’s value.

Buyers moving from the Southeast to the mountain West want to know how to tackle big winters and what kind of fire risk a pending community may face. Water sources, acreage, and terrain become driving factors for custom home building and outdoor recreation. The Land id delivers all of this information without marketing spin—direct, traceable, and easy to understand. 

Create Insights-Rich Virtual Property Tours

Beyond the AI-driven foresight, Land id AI Insights offers flexibility and speed. Entire virtual property tours can be customized and shared in minutes to an inbox or any mobile messaging experience, within minutes of a far-off client asking about it. 

Recipients scroll through slides displaying a range of pertinent information, from nearby schools, community boundaries, and municipal tax and parcel data, measurably reducing the workload of on-the-ground agents.

Closing the Deal With Out-Of-State Buyers

As the largest national brokerage brands and influential MLS leaders leverage listing access to better their position in the market, The Land id offers the opposite approach: a vehicle by which to get the right answer about any property question. 

If you find yourself stymied by ever-changing listing display guidelines or non-responsive listing agents, all you need is an address to uncover more than any portal or non-cooperating brokerage can traditionally provide. 

In summary, buyers can make better decisions in less time when countless data sources are filtered into a single property experience, especially when those insights are combined with the proven market and dealmaking expertise of a local agent.