The shift to work-from-home policies drove more than 60 percent of the dramatic recent growth in U.S. house prices, according to a Fed study.
Research from the Federal Bank of San Francisco reveals that remote work caused over 60 percent of the sharp rise in home prices during the pandemic, reports Catarina Saraiva for Bloomberg. Average house prices increased by 24 percent between November 2019 and November 2021. Meanwhile, remote work remains popular, with 30 percent of workers still working from home, a rate three times larger than before the pandemic.
“The authors, who adjusted housing data to account for the migration from expensive cities to more affordable areas that occurred during the pandemic, found that each 1 percentage point increase in remote work results in about a 0.9 percentage point increase in house prices.” According to the Fed’s report, “This suggests that the fundamentals of housing demand have changed, such that the persistence of remote work is likely to affect the future path of real estate prices and inflation.”
While rates of remote work vary vastly between different cities, home prices remain high around the country as workers continue to spread out and seek larger homes to accommodate home offices and new household arrangements.
FULL STORY: Remote Work Drove Over 60% of House-Price Surge, Fed Study Finds
Home Prices, Demand on Downward Trajectory
The once-overheated housing market continues to cool as rising interest rates reduce demand.
Manhattan Home Sales Slow, Rent Growth Continues
The Manhattan housing market is seeing lower sale prices and a slowdown in demand, but rents in the city are still going up.
Where Housing Costs Are Falling Fastest
Although median home prices remain close to record highs in many cities, some of the country’s priciest metro areas are seeing home prices plummet.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie