Why Remote Work Will Continue To Shape The Post-Pandemic Housing Market

The COVID-19 pandemic era’s shift to remote work will continue to shape the housing market after the health crisis has faded, according to a new survey from Zillow Group Inc. Z.

What Happened: Zillow surveyed more than 1,000 Americans between March 1 and March 7 and found that while remote workers were far more likely to move, approximately 40% of respondents said they did not know if or when they would be required to return to their workplace. However, more than 80% of respondents said they wanted to work remotely at least occasionally while 44% wanted to work from home without having to venture to a workplace.

Furthermore, half of millennial and Gen Z respondents who did not know their employer's post-pandemic plans said they were somewhat likely to consider getting a new job if they were forced to working in person more often.

"Lingering uncertainty over permanent flexible work policies suggests that we're closer to the beginning of the Great Reshuffling than the end," said Chris Glynn, Zillow senior managing economist. "As more people learn how often they'll have to be at their workplace or make a job change to gain that flexibility, we expect to see more people move. Remote work will be a significant driver of housing demand for years to come, along with demographic trends."

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What Else Happened: Homebuyers in search of a new residence are finding fewer bidding wars for their desired property. Redfin RDFN reported that 58.8% of the home offers written by its agents faced competition, the lowest level this year and slightly lower than the 59.4% bidding war rate recorded in August 2020.

Raleigh, North Carolina, had the highest bidding-war rate among the 48 metro areas tracked by Redfin, with 86.7% of offers written by its agents facing competition in August. Other markets where bidding wars have yet to abate include San Francisco/San Jose (70.7%), Tucson (70.5%), Cincinnati (70.4%) and Salt Lake City (68.1%).

Photo: Tumisu / Pixabay.