Of the many ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has altered everyday life, one of the more permanent changes may be 'work from home' culture. With some major tech companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, already allowing workers to work from home indefinitely, smaller companies across the country are likely to follow their lead.
According to Gallup, some 62 percent of Americans have worked from home since the start of the pandemic. Of that number, three in five people would prefer to continue working from home. This has serious ramifications for both commercial and residential real estate—ramifications that the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) took a closer look at in a recent study.
In U.S. counties with high levels of the workforce working from home, there is an increased demand for residential real estate in the suburbs, while commercial real estate in more metropolitan areas could soon see a dip in demand. There is already evidence that working from home doesn't negatively impact worker productivity.
"With some organizations expanding remote work options, and as more people show an ability to remain productive from home, we may see buyers seeking larger properties that offer space for a potential home office and other features that have become more valuable as a result of this pandemic," said NAR President Vince Malta, broker at Malta & Co., Inc., in San Francisco, Calif.
As part of its study, NAR compiled a list of the top work from home counties in the country. They came up with the list by looking at more than 3,000 U.S. counties and weighing several factors, including: internet connectivity, home affordability, urbanization and population growth. Here are the top 10 work from home counties in the U.S.:
- Forsyth County, Ga.
- Douglas County, Colo.
- Los Alamos County, N.M.
- Collin County, Texas
- Loudon County, Va.
- Hamilton County, Ind.
- Williamson County, Tenn.
- Delaware County, Ohio
- Broomfield County, Colo.
- Dallas County, Iowa
To view the full report, for interactive maps and to see a full breakdown of their methodology, be sure to head over to NAR's website.
