Homeowners making moves out of state are increasingly selling out of expensive markets like California, where price escalation is steep, and buying into lower-cost markets such as Texas and Arizona, according to an analysis by data company CoreLogic.

Overall between 2000 and 2015, 2½ home sellers left California for every out-of-state buyer coming into the state, the study found, whereas in Texas, Arizona and North Carolina there have been more buyers coming than sellers leaving. That trend has accelerated as the housing recovery...