Florida dominated a new list of markets attracting out-of-town shoppers for newly built homes, with outside shoppers generating more than 80% of new-construction views in several of the state’s metro areas.

Lakeland led the nation, with out-of-town shoppers accounting for more than 83% of new-construction views during the second quarter, followed by Cape Coral at 82.4%, Port St. Lucie at 80.9% and North Port at 80.5%, according to a new Realtor.com report.

Nationwide, 67.2% of views of new-construction listings came from out-of-metro shoppers, compared with 65.4% for existing-home listings.

Durham, North Carolina, rounded out the top five at 80.2%.

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Out-of-town shoppers accounted for more than 83% of new-construction views in Lakeland, Florida. (iStock)

Deltona, Florida; Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina; Stockton, California; and Augusta, Georgia, also drew strong interest from out-of-market shoppers, the report found.

“The new builds are competitively priced in these metros, so out-of-metro buyers who maybe did not necessarily have new construction in mind find lots of new builds that fall into their price filters,” Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said in a statement.

Affordability and Sun Belt lifestyle are among the major factors driving out-of-market interest in those areas, according to Berner.

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Durham, North Carolina, rounded out the top five at 80.2%. (iStock)

The difference in metro-wide median new-construction listing prices can be substantial.

Lakeland’s median new-construction listing price was $315,821 in the second quarter, compared with $1,946,685 in Miami.  Many shoppers viewing homes in Lakeland came from Miami, Orlando and Tampa, the report found.

Cape Coral, meanwhile, attracted shoppers browsing from Miami, New York City and Chicago.

Brian Stephens, a real estate agent and team leader with eXp Realty in Lakeland, said builders are also attracting buyers with closing-cost assistance and mortgage-rate buy-downs.

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Affordability and the Sun Belt lifestyle are among the major factors driving out-of-market interest in those areas. (iStock/Getty Images Plus)

“They have slightly more inventory, and they offer to pay for the buyers’ closing costs and even buy the interest rate down,” Stephens told Realtor.com. “Why purchase a resale when you can purchase a new home and get a warranty and everything is brand-new?”

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Those incentives are becoming increasingly important as builders compete for buyers nationwide.

Nationally, the median asking price for a newly built home was $450,256 during the second quarter, down 0.1% from a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.

Some businesses are adapting to find customers elsewhere.

Matteo Sgaramella, who owns Toronto-based menswear clothing company Outclass, told the BBC he has started attending trunk shows in Paris instead of New York, helping him reach more customers in Europe.

“The reception has been amazing,” he said, adding that some European stores are particularly enthused about supporting Canadian products due to the ongoing trade war with the US.

“We’re kind of seen as the one country that’s kind of standing up to the Americans right now,” Sgaramella said.

Other businesses, however, are struggling to diversify their trade, particularly in Ontario manufacturing sectors that are deeply integrated with the US.

A recent report by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce pointed out three such regions in Ontario – Oshawa, London and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo – as being particularly vulnerable.

“These cities remain heavily tied to the US market, while growth in exports outside the US has been limited or insufficient to offset broader weakness in trade activity and local economic conditions,” the report said.

While some businesses are lagging, foreign direct investment into Canada hit C$96.8 billion in 2025, the highest inflow of capital to the Canadian economy since 2007.

Canada’s economy also strongly rebounded in the second quarter of 2026 to 3.3% growth in the country’s GDP, thanks to a jump in exports and domestic investment.

These latest figures have warded off recession concerns, at least for now.

Carney is hoping to attract even more investment. In September, his government will host the first-ever Canada Investment Summit, bringing major investors, CEOs and business leaders to Toronto for two days.

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1. Recognise what’s behind the row: It may be about feeling valued or treated fairly, rather than the money itself

2. Avoid making assumptions about a sibling’s financial situation or the reasons behind parental decisions

3. Encourage open, respectful conversations where everyone has the opportunity to explain how they feel

4. Parents should communicate their intentions as clearly as possible, particularly if they are supporting children differently for practical reasons

5. Consider family counselling if conversations repeatedly become stuck or emotionally charged

6. Consider mediation before taking legal action in inheritance disputes.

7. Choose powers of attorney carefully: Parents usually appoint their children to oversee their care and finances if they get ill or lose mental capacity. But if there’s a risk they’ll fall out, they can appoint someone else including a solicitor.

Sources: Relate, Family Now Solutions