The U.S real estate market is showing “great reshuffling” in the age of the Covid pandemic. Zillow chief Rich Barton claimed this on his Q2 earnings meeting, reported by CNBC.
According to him, people are moving to large comfortable places for more privacy and space where they can work-from-home. When the novel coronavirus was declared as a pandemic, the idea of work-from-home became popular in both the U.S and Europe.
Most of the companies were forced to arrange remote work facilities to keep the business running. But as the workers got more comfortable in the new trend they are considering a permanent change. People now want to spend nine hours working from home in a nice and cozy place with all the facilities available.
This can trigger new business opportunities for real estate companies like Zillow. And a pandemic in 2020 is making all these things possible.
Home Offices are in High Demand
Home office spaces are already in higher demand in the U.S. The home office backyards are converted into gyms. Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms changed the traditional meetings. So commute to work can be avoided by all means.
Now, experts believe that one thing can shape the future of the real estate market and that is the experience of a sizable and livable space with remote working facilities. They added that spending more time with the family has become a priority for the workers.
Employers are not interested to Bring Back Employees- Igniting the “Great Reshuffling”
The fascinating thing about the recent pandemic is that companies are not interested to force the employees to join the offices. Since the global lockdowns are more relaxed the workers kept working from home due to the fear of contamination.
“To me, it sort of takes the edge off of the second shift,” Laura Hamill, chief people officer of Limeade tells CNBC. “I can start the dishwasher in the middle of the day or I can put out the chicken to cook for a later meal.”
The employers are willing to watch until the Covid-19 vaccine hit the market. So employees can expect stay-home instructions at least this year. More excitingly, big names like Zillow and Twitter are promoting an indefinite remote work facility for their employees. This will encourage more companies to follow the new trend.
Employees moving from expensive cities
The Covid Pandemic taught workers how large cities can be a deadly option for them. For instance, they are more open to faster disease spread and can be expensive to live in. However, smaller cities with the power of the digital age can be a better alternative.
“I believe we are at the dawn of a great reshuffling. I’m sure I don’t need to spell it out for you because we are all living it, spending an average of nine hours more per day at home.” – Barton, CEO of Zillow.
According to the Zillow CEO, a “deceleration of migration” is happening in the United States which is important for the future of the real estate market. His term “great reshuffling” actually makes sense as the people are willing to move from the expensive cities to the cheaper ones.
Read More: Post-COVID U.S Real Estate Market Outlook