Americans who bought large rural homes during COVID are now selling up and returning to cities as more employers end work from home rules

Americans who bought large homes in rural areas during the pandemic are now selling their homes and returning to cities as companies eliminate work-from-home rules.

When COVID hit in 2020, more than 61 percent of people were working from home — leading homeowners to opt for larger homes with more space to live and work.

Return-to-work policies motivate one in 10 U.S. home sellers to move, according to a housing survey collected by Redfin from May and June 2023.

As more companies implement back-to-the-office orders, workers are faced with the decision of whether to sell their spacious suburban and rural homes and return to the office, or maintain their pandemic lifestyle and find a new job. to search.

Return-to-work policies motivate one in 10 U.S. home sellers to move, according to a housing survey collected by Redfin from May and June 2023

Major companies like JPMorgan, GEICO and HSBC have sent their staff back to the office at least a few days a week after having their staff work remotely for almost three years.

A real estate agent in Boise, Idaho, said she has had a few clients who are selling their homes after just a year because their Seattle-based employer is ordering employees to return to the office.

That means they now want to live closer to the city on the left, making the daily commute shorter. It’s a prospect that some Americans who fled metropolitan areas during the pandemic are now facing.

The couple will most likely sell their home at a loss, as they bought when prices peaked in the wake of the pandemic.

“My salespeople both work for the same company, which told them they had to be in the office three days a week or they would lose their jobs. They have six months to take the step. They will probably have to take a $100,000 loss on their house,” said real estate agent Shauna Pendleton.

“Their new house in Seattle won’t be anywhere near the size of their house in Boise, and their mortgage interest rates will be much higher.”

Donna Rutter, 59, bought an 11-acre ranchette in the Texas community of Rocky Creek Ranch three years ago, but she has now put her dream home on the market for $1.75 million because a phone call back to the office will cut into her daily commute. Each way took 45 minutes.

Rutter – who owns her own accounting firm – shared The Wall Street Journal: ‘Small businesses weren’t really set up for remote work. My clients want me in the office. They want to meet me.’

Seattle-based real estate agent David Palmer said he has received about 10 percent more inquiries since the start of 2023 than in 2022 from clients looking to move closer to the city because their jobs are personal-based.

“I have a buyer who left town during the pandemic. He now works for Google and to make a long story short, he has to commute three days a week and that’s about a two-hour round trip,” says Palmer. “So he’s actively looking to buy something.”

When the pandemic hit in May 2020, more than 61 percent of people were working from home — prompting potential homeowners to opt for larger homes with more space to live and work in

Major companies like JPMorgan, GEICO and HSBC have ordered their staff to return to the office at least a few days a week after having their staff work remotely for almost three years

Fewer buyers are looking for real estate criteria that make working from home more comfortable, according to a recent Zillow.com survey. Keywords such as ‘home office’ and ‘cl office’ were mentioned much less in the first six months of 2023 than in the same period last year

Fewer buyers are looking for real estate criteria that make working from home more comfortable, according to a recent Zillow.com survey.

Keywords such as ‘home office’ and ‘cl office’ were mentioned much less in the first six months of 2023 than in the same period last year.

The need for more space was also reflected in holiday home sales – which have since fallen by three-quarters from their peak during the pandemic, as rising interest rates and limited housing stock deter potential buyers.

About 16 percent of existing home sales are now going to vacation rentals, compared to a peak of 22 percent in January 2022, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. From the end of 2015 to the first half of 2020, this figure remains above the average of 14 percent.

A report from mortgage servicer Optimal Blue cited by Reuters shows that home sales in the tourist hotspots of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Lake Havasu City, Arizona, have effectively dried up this year. Across the board, holiday home sales have fallen by 75 percent.

This housing trend shows that Americans are no longer desperate for spacious vacation rentals in the typical vacation destinations that were popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Redfin reported that there are many people today who are moving because they want larger homes at a lower cost – which seems counterintuitive, but can be accomplished if the property is in a less desirable area.

Real estate experts recently identified the top 10 cities you can move to if you want bigger homes on a budget.

The city with the most “affordable townhouses” was Indianapolis, Indiana, followed closely by Atlanta and Washington, DC

Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, wrote in the report: “Many of the metros on the list stand out because they are generally affordable locations, with plenty of room to grow and expand. They tend to be less densely populated, especially the further you get from the city center. So buyers can get more space at a lower price.”