Small Business Blog Article

Could the emergence of online labor impact where people buy homes? Language often reflects a cultural shift. We see terms like virtual, remote, telecommute, work at home, and home-based to describe the way people make a living more frequently. Realtors may gain value by considering the relationship between the growing remote workforce and the changing demands of home buyers.

Savvy real estate agents anticipate the trend toward location-neutral employment. The increasingly digital work environment creates shifting priorities for people looking to purchase a home. Fewer than 20% of those surveyed expressed concerns related to having to sell prematurely due to job loss or moving for a job. Work commutes disappear as a deciding factor for some prospective buyers, so a neighborhood in a bustling city becomes less desirable. When asked where they plan to move, each group in the study demonstrated less interest in relocating to urban areas.People from rural areas or the suburbs choose to move to urban areas less than 10 percent of the time.

If proximity to work and a reasonable commute cease to be primary objectives, what are homebuyers prioritizing? For respondents interested in purchasing within one year, the primary motivator is space; they need more square footage. Nearly 42% of people surveyed were motivated by the desire for more space, which could be indicative of business operations happening at home. For 18% of people, the motivation to buy was a new remote position.

A significant number of people explicitly claim remote work is their reason for house hunting. Real estate agents must be aware of how this lifestyle change uniquely impacts buyers’ housing decisions. Money.com offers an intriguing example of how the shift toward remote positions causes home buyers to reprioritize their demands.

For realtors aiming to strategically adapt to this emerging norm, staying current on the home-buying community’s wish list is a must. Did you know over 30% of Millennials consider a dedicated office space a must-have? Paired with buyer preferences, proactive research on the intent of employers is a key measure to take. For example, knowing that 35% of employers in this study will take a remote-first approach to hiring could enable a real estate agent to market competitively to digitally employed house hunters. Realtors connecting with a market focused on working remotely have many opportunities to innovate on the horizon.