New homeowners are fleeing their pandemic-era digs to be closer to the office, report says
The Good Brigade/Getty Images
- Some homeowners are selling their homes due to return-to-work policies.
- Large employers like Apple, Google, and Tesla are calling employees back to the office.
- The housing market is booming within some city limits.
Some people who purchased homes in remote locations and away from city centers in the midst of the pandemic are now looking to sell as they return to the office more frequently, according to the Wall Street Journal.
About 10% of US house sellers are looking to move specifically because of policies about working in the office, according to a September report by Redfin cited by the Journal. The study surveyed more than 6,000 people in May and June across the country who were looking to see their homes and move within the next year.
The consumer shift comes as more people are returning to a more traditional office schedule following the pandemic: average office attendance has inched just above 50% of their pre-pandemic levels in large U.S. cities including New York and San Francisco, according to security-badge building swipe tracker Kastle.
Google, for example, will now consider office attendance during its performance reviews, the Journal previously reported, while Austin-based Tesla as well as SpaceX, both owned by Elon Musk, are requiring employees to work out of one of the company's offices 40 hours each week.
Real estate agents told the Journal that they're flooded with requests from homeowners to sell their existing homes — often located outside of city centers with long commutes — and find new houses closer to their offices.
The switch is tough for some house hunters becuase properties in and close to major metropolitan areas are often more expensive. But it's also a boom for city housing markets, which was once sluggish thanks to high interest rates.