While the sudden onset of COVID-19 gave rise to remote work and spurred a pandemic housing rush in areas like the West, those who bought homes thinking their situation would be more permanent are now having to grapple with a new reality.
Return-to-office mandates are forcing some to choose between selling their home at a loss or losing their jobs. One in 10 home sellers are now moving because they’re being called back into the office, according to a new Redfin report.
The survey conducted by Qualtrics in May and June of 5,079 U.S. residents produced 616 respondents who indicated that they’re likely to sell a home and move in the next year. Of those, 20% said they’re moving due to safety or crime concerns, a desire to live somewhere more aligned with their social views, and/or lower taxes.
Return-to-work policies motivated about 10% of those sellers, according to the survey.
“While returning to the office wasn’t the most common reason respondents listed for moving, the response rate is notable because back-to-office mandates are an emerging cause of relocation,” Redfin reported.
Boise, Idaho, was among one of the West’s pandemic housing hot spots — along with Utah. In late 2020, 2021 and early 2022, Idaho and Utah saw some of the most dramatic price increases as Americans set free by remote work opportunities moved to areas with bigger houses at lower price points that were also near outdoor recreation destinations.
But as the Federal Reserve’s fight with inflation has driven borrowing rates higher and brought the housing frenzy to a screeching halt, the West is also seeing some of the most significant price declines.
In Boise, one of Redfin’s real estate agents, Shauna Pendleton, said she has a pair of clients who are selling their homes after living in them for only about a year because their Seattle-based employer is requiring them to begin working in person. Because they bought their home when prices were near their peak last spring, they’ll likely have to sell at a loss.
“My sellers both work at the same company, which told them they have to be in the office three days a week or they’ll lose their jobs. They have six months to make the move,” Pendleton said, Redfin reported. “They’ll probably have to take a $100,000 loss on their home. Their new house in Seattle won’t be anything close to the size of their property in Boise, and their mortgage rate will be much higher.”
Major corporations like Amazon, Apple, Google, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Meta are among those that have begun requiring their employees to go back to the office at least part time.