How Remote Work Is Reshaping the Housing Market: Trends, Data, and What Comes Next

In March 2020, about 5% of Americans worked from home full-time. By April 2020, that number was 35%. As of 2026, it's stabilized around 25-28% — roughly five times the pre-pandemic baseline.

That shift moved trillions of dollars in housing demand from one set of markets to another, changed what buyers want in a home, and permanently altered the relationship between where people work and where they live.

This article breaks down what actually happened, which markets won and lost, and what the data says about where remote work and housing are headed.

The Great Reshuffling: What the Data Shows

Migration patterns

The U.S. Postal Service change-of-address data, combined with tax migration records from the IRS, tells a clear story:

Net outflow markets (2020-2025):

• San Francisco: -175,000 net residents
• New York City: -300,000+ net residents
• Los Angeles: -200,000 net residents
• Chicago: -95,000 net residents
• Boston: -40,000 net residents

Net inflow markets (2020-2025):

• Austin, TX: +120,000 net residents
• Phoenix metro: +200,000 net residents
• Boise, ID: +45,000 net residents
• Nashville, TN: +80,000 net residents
• Raleigh-Durham, NC: +70,000 net residents
• Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL: +150,000 net residents

A 2023 Stanford study by Nick Bloom (the leading researcher on remote work economics) estimated that remote work was responsible for about 50% of the home price increases in "Zoom towns" — smaller cities that attracted remote workers — during 2020-2022.

Price impacts

The Zillow [Home Value](/blog/appraisal-process-explained) Index shows divergent trends:

Markets that surged (2020-2023 peak appreciation):

• Boise, ID: +68%
• Austin, TX: +62%
• Phoenix, AZ: +55%
• Salt Lake City, UT: +52%
• Tampa, FL: +58%

Markets that lagged or declined:

• San Francisco: +8% (then declined 10% from peak)
• New York City (Manhattan): -5% to +5% depending on neighborhood
• Downtown Chicago condos: flat to -5%

The pattern was clear: expensive, dense metro cores lost demand to affordable, mid-size metros with good quality of life. Remote workers earning San Francisco salaries could buy homes in Boise or Nashville for a fraction of the cost.

The affordability arbitrage

The math driving migration was straightforward:

A software engineer earning $180,000 in San Francisco faces:

• Median home price: $1.4 million
• Monthly mortgage (20% down): ~$7,400
• Income after housing: modest

The same engineer working remotely from Boise:

• Median home price (2020): $340,000
• Monthly mortgage (20% down): ~$1,800
• Annual savings: ~$67,000

Even with some salary adjustment for cost of living (many companies cut 10-20% for geographic moves), the financial benefit was enormous.

What Remote Workers Want in a Home

Remote work didn't just change where people live — it changed what they need from a home.

Space requirements increased

The National Association of Realtors' 2024 buyer survey found:

• 63% of remote workers said a dedicated home office was "essential" (up from 20% pre-pandemic)
• Average desired square footage increased by 200-300 sq ft for remote worker households
• Demand for 3+ bedroom homes increased significantly, even among households without children
• Two-home-office demand emerged as a distinct segment for dual-remote-worker couples

Location preferences shifted

What matters more:

• Square footage and room count
• Outdoor space (yards, patios, balconies)
• Quality of internet connectivity
• Proximity to nature, parks, recreation
• Lower cost of living
• Quality of life (climate, culture, food)

What matters less:

• Commute time to a specific office
• Proximity to urban core
• Access to public transit (for some buyers)
• Being in a "prestigious" zip code

Suburban and exurban demand spiked

Redfin data shows that searches for suburban and rural properties increased 200-300% during 2020-2021, while searches for urban apartments declined 15-25%. This trend has moderated but hasn't reversed — suburban and exurban demand remains elevated above pre-pandemic baselines.

The "drive-until-you-qualify" phenomenon intensified. Buyers who previously looked 30 minutes from the office started looking 60-90 minutes out — or farther — since they only needed to commute 1-2 days per week.

The Hybrid Work Compromise

Full remote work gets the most attention, but hybrid arrangements (2-3 days in office, 2-3 days at home) are the dominant model for most knowledge workers. As of 2026, roughly:

• 25-28% of workers are fully remote
• 30-35% are hybrid (some days in office)
• 40-45% are fully in-person

Hybrid work creates a different housing calculus than full remote:

The "anchor" effect

Hybrid workers still need to be within reasonable commuting distance of their office, but "reasonable" has expanded. Pre-pandemic, most workers wanted a commute under 30 minutes. Hybrid workers who only commute 2-3 days per week accept 45-75 minute commutes — because they only make the trip half the time.

This expanded the effective commuting radius by 50-100%, opening up significantly more affordable housing markets.

Geographic impact of hybrid work

Cities with strong employment cores surrounded by affordable suburbs have benefited most from hybrid:

• Dallas-Fort Worth: Workers in downtown Dallas or Plano offices buy homes in Denton, McKinney, or Waxahachie (30-50 miles out)
• Washington, D.C.: Federal workers who go in 2 days/week buy in Frederick, MD or Culpeper, VA — areas previously too far for daily commuters
• Denver: Hybrid workers stretch to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, or mountain communities like Evergreen
• Atlanta: Already sprawling, Atlanta's exurbs (Cumming, Canton, Covington) saw dramatic population growth from hybrid workers

Markets That Overshot — And Corrected

Not every "Zoom town" boom was sustainable. Several markets that surged on remote work demand saw significant corrections when reality set in.

Boise, Idaho

Boise was the poster child for pandemic migration. Home prices rose from $330,000 (median) in early 2020 to $550,000 by mid-2022 — a 67% increase. Then:

• Prices declined about 12% from peak through 2023
• Inventory surged from under 1 month to over 4 months
• Some buyers who purchased at peak found themselves underwater

Why the correction? Prices had outrun local incomes. The median household income in Boise was about $65,000 — making a $550,000 median home price deeply unaffordable for local buyers. When the initial wave of remote worker migration slowed, there weren't enough local buyers to sustain peak prices.

Austin, Texas

Austin experienced a similar pattern. Median prices jumped from $340,000 in early 2020 to $560,000 by mid-2022, then declined about 15% by late 2023. Contributing factors:

• Massive new construction (Austin permitted more housing than any other U.S. metro per capita)
• Some companies (Tesla, Oracle, tech firms) brought workers who expected to stay remote but were eventually called back
• [California](/blog/california-heloc-guide)-to-Texas migration slowed as the novelty wore off and Austin's own affordability deteriorated

Lessons from the corrections:

1. Remote worker demand is real but not unlimited. The initial surge was partly pent-up demand unleashed all at once. Ongoing demand is steadier but lower.
2. Local income still matters. Markets where prices detached from local buying power are vulnerable to correction when external demand slows.
3. New construction moderates prices. Markets that build aggressively (Texas, Idaho, the Mountain West) see supply catch up faster than supply-constrained markets.

Markets That Benefited Sustainably

Some markets absorbed remote worker demand without overheating, because they had the infrastructure, economic diversity, and housing supply to support growth.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

The Triangle benefited from both remote worker migration and organic economic growth (biotech, tech, universities). Prices rose about 40% from 2020-2024 but didn't crash because:

• Strong local employment base
• Moderate new construction
• University system provides stable demand
• Relatively affordable at $400,000 median

Salt Lake City metro, Utah

Price growth moderated after initial pandemic surge, but the metro's fundamentals — young population, tech sector growth, outdoor recreation — continue to attract remote workers without the boom-bust dynamic.

Mid-size Southern cities

Markets like Huntsville, AL; Greenville, SC; and Chattanooga, TN saw steady 20-30% appreciation since 2020 without dramatic corrections. Their lower starting prices and diversified economies provided resilience.

The Return-to-Office Push: Real Threat or Overhyped?

Starting in 2023, major employers including Amazon, JPMorgan, Disney, and Goldman Sachs mandated full or near-full return-to-office. Headlines declared remote work dead.

The data tells a different story.

What's actually happening:

• Large traditional companies (banking, consulting, legacy tech) have pushed hardest for RTO
• Startups, mid-size tech, and many professional services firms remain remote-first or hybrid
• Compliance with RTO mandates is partial. KPMG's 2024 CEO Survey found that only 34% of companies that mandated full RTO achieved full compliance
• Attrition from RTO mandates is real. Research from Unispace found that 42% of companies that mandated RTO experienced higher-than-expected employee turnover

Impact on housing:

RTO mandates have slowed migration out of major metros but haven't reversed it. The net effect as of 2026:

• Migration from expensive metros has slowed from pandemic-era peaks but remains above pre-2020 baselines
• Workers who relocated during the pandemic and were later called back to offices have mostly either found new remote jobs, negotiated hybrid arrangements, or accepted long commutes
• Some "boomerang" migration back to cities has occurred, particularly among younger workers who moved to suburban or rural areas and found them isolating

The structural shift is clear: remote and hybrid work are permanent fixtures of the labor market. The percentage may fluctuate between 25-35% of the workforce, but a return to 5% (pre-pandemic levels) is not happening.

What This Means for Buyers and Investors in 2026

For buyers:

If you're fully remote:

• You have geographic flexibility that most buyers don't. Use it.
• Focus on markets with strong quality of life, good internet infrastructure, and reasonable price-to-income ratios
• Consider: Can your employer change the policy? If there's a risk of RTO, buy within commuting range or ensure you could find another remote position
• Don't overpay in a "Zoom town" that's already priced in the remote work premium

If you're hybrid:

• Your best opportunity is in the expanded commute radius — suburbs and exurbs that are 45-75 minutes from your office
• Look for areas along major transit corridors that you'd use 2-3 days per week
• A longer commute 2 days/week is often a better trade-off than a shorter commute 5 days/week in a more expensive area

If you're in-person:

• Traditional location economics apply. Commute time and transit access matter most
• You may benefit from slightly reduced competition in urban markets as some buyers have shifted to suburbs

For investors:

Long-term plays:

• Markets with diverse remote-work-friendly economies (tech, professional services, creative industries) will continue attracting remote workers
• Homes with dedicated office space, high-speed internet, and adequate square footage command premium rents from remote workers
• Coworking-adjacent residential (near flexible office space) is an emerging niche

Caution areas:

• Markets that spiked purely on remote worker migration without underlying economic diversity
• Downtown office-dependent areas that may face sustained vacancy and reduced foot traffic
• Markets with aggressive new construction that could outpace demand

The Infrastructure Question

Remote work's impact on housing depends partly on infrastructure that's still developing:

Internet access

Reliable high-speed internet is non-negotiable for remote workers. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated $65 billion for broadband expansion. As rural broadband improves, it opens new housing markets for remote workers — but the rollout is slow. As of 2025, about 20% of rural Americans still lack reliable broadband.

Commercial real estate conversion

Empty office buildings in downtown cores could be converted to residential use, adding housing supply in urban areas. San Francisco, New York, and Chicago have all launched conversion incentive programs. However, office-to-residential conversion is expensive and architecturally challenging — most analysts expect only 10-15% of vacant office space to be successfully converted.

Coworking and third spaces

The growth of coworking spaces in suburban and rural areas gives remote workers professional workspace options without a downtown office. This supports the suburban remote work lifestyle and makes mid-size and smaller markets more viable for knowledge workers.

Related Articles

• [Best Cities For [House Hacking 2026](/blog/best-cities-for-house-hacking-2026)](/blog/best-cities-for-house-hacking-2026)
• [Best Cities For Section 8 Investing](/blog/best-cities-for-section-8-investing)
• [Best States For Landlords 2026](/blog/best-states-for-landlords-2026)
• Best Time To Buy House 2026
• [Emerging Real Estate Markets 2026](/blog/emerging-real-estate-markets-2026)

FAQs

Is remote work actually permanent?

The data strongly suggests yes. Stanford's Work From Home Research project (led by Nick Bloom) projects that 25-30% of work days will be performed from home indefinitely. This is down from the 2020 peak of 50%+ but five times the pre-pandemic level. The productivity data, employee preferences, and employer cost savings all support permanence.

Which cities benefit most from remote work?

Mid-size cities with good quality of life, affordable housing, and existing infrastructure: Raleigh-Durham, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Boise (post-correction), Chattanooga, Huntsville, Greenville SC, Colorado Springs. The common traits: affordable, pleasant climate or outdoor access, some existing tech/professional services employment, and good internet infrastructure.

Will remote work cause housing prices to equalize across the country?

Partially, but not completely. Geographic arbitrage — earning a high-cost-city salary while living in a low-cost area — is real but limited by employer salary adjustments, personal ties to specific locations, and the continued importance of in-person industries. Price gaps have narrowed but will persist.

Should I buy a home with a dedicated office?

If you work remotely, absolutely. Homes with a dedicated office or convertible flex space sell for 3-5% more than comparable homes without one, according to Redfin data. This premium is likely to persist or increase as remote work becomes more entrenched.

How does remote work affect rental markets?

Remote work has shifted rental demand toward larger units (2+ bedrooms) in suburban locations. Studio and one-bedroom apartments in downtown cores have seen slower rent growth compared to suburban 2-3 bedrooms. However, urban rental markets have largely recovered from pandemic lows as younger workers return to cities for social and career reasons.

What happens to housing if there's a major return-to-office push?

Even aggressive RTO scenarios (mandates from most large employers) would likely reduce the remote workforce from ~28% to ~18-20%. This would modestly reduce demand in remote-work-dependent markets and boost demand in traditional commuter suburbs, but it wouldn't reverse the fundamental shift. The housing stock has already adapted, and many workers would change jobs rather than give up remote work.

The Bottom Line

Remote work has permanently expanded the geographic options available to roughly a quarter of American workers. This has shifted housing demand from expensive urban cores to more affordable metros and suburbs, changed what buyers value in a home (space over location), and created both opportunities and risks for investors.

The initial surge has passed. The markets that overshot on pandemic-era migration have corrected. What remains is a structural shift: millions of workers who will never return to five-day commutes, and a housing market that reflects their priorities.

For buyers, the key insight is simple: if you can work remotely, your housing dollar goes dramatically further outside of traditional expensive metros. For investors, the opportunity lies in understanding which markets have sustainable demand from remote workers versus which ones experienced a one-time migration wave that's already faded.