The sale of luxury homes in Sacramento has doubled in just the past five years, as more and more Bay Area dwellers leave the region for more affordable homes and less crowded conditions in the state capital, according to a Mansion Global report. In fact, the rate of exodus is so high that in 2016 and 2017, more residents moved out of the metropolitan area (including San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward), than moved into the area, per the Wall Street Journal. 

Sacramento County saw 233 luxury home sales (defined as a home sold for more than $1 million) in 2017, which was a 32 percent jump from the previous year. This March, homes in the top five percent of the housing pool spent an average of 54 days on the market before being snapped up by a buyer. 1 million bucks may be able to get you only a tiny apartment or condo in San Francisco, but those dollars stretch much further in Sacramento. In the state capital, a $1 million house is likely at least 4,000 square feet, with four to five bedrooms and maybe even an office.

Meanwhile, the cost of housing in San Francisco keeps breaking its own record, recently topping $1.61 million, according to a Curbed SF report. A price of a home that would be deemed “affordable housing” in San Francisco is enough to buy a luxury home in Sacramento.

As more residents opt to leave the Bay Area for sunnier housing pastures, Silicon Valley companies are offering perks to encourage this movement. Many companies are starting to implement policies that allow employees to work from home a few days a week, meaning Silicon Valley tech workers can keep their jobs while being able to live in a nicer, more affordable home.

The popularity of Sacramento is showing no signs of slowing down. In just the first three months of the year, the number of contracts signed for homes over $900,000 in the Greater Sacramento region doubled from last year.