The latest Great American Nesting Index, compiled by 3 Day Blinds in June 2026, ranks every state and Washington, D.C. on how many owners are staying put and investing in home improvements. The index blends three public data sets: long‑term tenure from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, three‑year home‑price appreciation from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and renovation interest measured by Google Trends search activity.
Top five states: Northeast dominance
New York tops the list with 60.5% of owner‑occupied homes occupied since before 2010, tied with West Virginia. It is followed by Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. In each of these states, more than half of homeowners have lived in the same house for at least 14 years.
Age plays a major role. Nationwide, over a third of owner‑occupied homes belong to Americans 65 and older. Many seniors own their homes outright, face rising senior‑living costs, and have little incentive to move. The Northeast also contains some of the nation’s oldest housing stock, which changes hands infrequently, creating a tight‑supply loop: limited buyer options keep owners in place, and their focus shifts to improving what they already own.
Why staying pays off
Connecticut leads the country in three‑year home‑price appreciation at 27%, with New Jersey close behind at 26.9%. Homeowners who locked in low mortgage rates before the post‑2022 rate surge are now seeing their equity grow by more than a quarter of the home’s value while still paying a below‑market rate. Selling would mean giving up that rate advantage and re‑entering an expensive market.
Many are tapping that equity through home‑equity lines of credit (HELOCs) or second liens and pouring the funds back into renovations. New Jersey mirrors this pattern, combining strong appreciation, a 56.7% long‑tenure share, and the highest renovation‑search interest among the top four states.
Bottom‑ranked states: Sun Belt turnover
The five lowest‑ranked states—Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Utah—saw large influxes of new residents during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Nevada records the nation’s lowest long‑tenure share at 38.1%, meaning fewer than two‑in‑five owners moved in before 2010. Texas led the nation in net movers between 2020 and 2023, pulling many newcomers from California and other states.
These recent arrivals lower the average tenure, giving the appearance of a weaker market. In reality, the markets are simply younger in terms of homeowner tenure.
Mid‑ranked highlights
Kansas ranks seventh and shows the highest home‑improvement search interest of any state, even as Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies projects a slowdown in national remodeling activity. Kansas’s median home price sits well below the national average, leaving more budget room for upgrades. The state also posted the strongest third‑quarter 2025 economic growth, with 6.5% GDP growth and 6.3% personal‑income growth, supporting the nesting trend.
Washington, D.C. breaks the regional pattern. Although its three‑year appreciation is modest at 2.3%, the district has experienced a loss of over 62,000 federal jobs between January 2025 and January 2026. Yet home prices have remained stable thanks to a near‑freeze on new residential construction, creating a supply squeeze that encourages existing owners to stay and improve.
What the index tells us
The Great American Nesting Index reframes the narrative that homeowners are “trapped” by pre‑2022 mortgage rates. Instead, it shows that when moving no longer makes financial sense, many owners are channeling their resources into renovations, preserving community stability and enhancing property values.
For families, this trend supports the pillars of faith, family and liberty: homeowners can maintain multigenerational households, protect their hard‑earned equity, and exercise the freedom to improve their homes without the disruption of a move.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
