Remote Work Is Enabling Americans to Move to More Affordable Cities

For 25% of Americans, telecommuting increases after a move

SEATTLE, March 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — One in four U.S. residents work remotely more frequently after moving to a new metro area, according to a new survey conducted by Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. With unemployment at the lowest level in decades and wages stagnant, the chance to telecommute is allowing U.S. workers to move to more affordable areas, while maintaining their salaries.

Redfin Logo (PRNewsfoto/Redfin)

"The job market is very tight and employers want to hold on to people, so companies are much more willing now to allow workers to move," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "Plus, technology has enabled employers to let staff work remotely in a cost-efficient and productive manner."

Of all eligible survey respondents, more than half (51.1%) work remotely sometimes or always after their move, compared with just 44% who worked remotely before the move.

One way employers may be battling salary increases and supporting retention is by offering employees the ability to work remotely instead of higher wages, Fairweather said. For employees, the chance to work remotely allows them to move to a more affordable place while maintaining their salary.

Survey respondents listed varying reasons for packing up their lives. The most common primary justification was more affordable housing (25.7%). In second place came proximity to family/partners (21.2%), followed by retirement (17.9%).

While only a quarter of participants move for affordability, almost 60% said their ability to afford non-housing expenses and leisure activities improved after their relocation.

About 1 in 7 respondents said they wouldn't have been able to move without the ability to work remotely. Of people who moved specifically for affordability reasons, a slightly higher share said they couldn't have relocated without remote work, indicating that remote work has enabled workers to move to areas with more affordable homes.

The most common metros respondents migrated away from for affordability reasons were the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle, while the most popular metros people moved to for affordability were Phoenix, Sacramento, CA and Portland, OR.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, 26% of Redfin.com home searchers looked to move to another metro area, up from 25% during the same period of the prior year, according to a Redfin report from February. That tied the all-time high for the national share of home-searchers looking to relocate that was set in the third quarter. Phoenix, Sacramento and Las Vegas saw the highest net inflows.

Among the survey respondents, younger people saw a greater increase in remote work after relocating than older people. Of respondents 38 and younger, 55.5% worked remotely sometimes or always after moving, up from 46.9% before moving. Of participants 39 and older, 49.2% worked remotely sometimes or always after moving, compared with 42.7% before moving.

To read the full report, including research methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/blog/work-remotely-after-moving.

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer's favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country's #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry's lowest published error rate for listed homes. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 90 major metro areas across the U.S. and Canada. The company has helped customers buy or sell homes worth more than $115 billion.
For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.