Worldwide, many changes have taken place since the start of the pandemic. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've also seen massive changes in the housing market.
Rising prices, explosive growth, and new construction extended by months instead of days - all thanks to the pandemic and the volatile supply chain.
Across the US, the remote work environment has increased dramatically. Empty office spaces/buildings are common. Those spaces transitioning about as fast as dying shopping malls. Of course the latter dynamic is different across the US, but the new normal of working from home, or anywhere else, has blossomed.
But how much has the remote work environment contributed to the housing market price increases? According to this report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the pandemic is directly responsible for at least 23.8% of the growth in the housing market from December, 2019 to November, 2021.
The median home sale in the greater Phoenix area has increased by 34% from March, 2020 to July, 2022. Housing markets across the US can support similar growth, but Phoenix was one of the top 5 for appreciation.
With 42.8% of workers still working remotely as of November, 2021, how many have returned to a few days a week? Good question.
It stands to reason that after a 2 year time period, employers have positioned remote workers either part time or full time working from anywhere other than an office. Will that factor slow down price appreciation?
And according to the National Association of REALTORS®, 8.93 million people relocated since the pandemic began. The fastest growing cities are Miami, Austin, Houston, Phoenix and San Antonio.
This dynamic that we've experienced is nothing like what we've seen before, including working remotely. But now that interest rates have increased, demand has slowed, and inventory is increasing, how will that effect home prices?
What's your opinion?
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