Return to work policies are driving relocations

One in every ten home sellers, or 10.1% are relocating specifically because of return to work mandates, according to a Redfin survey conducted in May and June of this year. 

The survey posed this question to more than 5,000 residents and found that 600-plus indicated they’re likely to sell a home and move in the next year. Moving to be closer for a return to office wasn’t the most common reason respondents cited for moving but the rate reflects an emerging trend, even if many don’t head into an outside office all the time. Three times a week seems quite typical.

Redfin Premier agent Shauna Pendleton in Boise, Idaho, shared that a pair of clients are selling after only a year because their Seattle-based employer is requiring them to return to the office. “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. She added, “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.”

Other sellers consider other factors such as climate change and social issues when deciding where to live. Nearly one in five (19.3%) with plans to sell in the next year said they want to relocate to live in a place better aligned with their views on social issues. A similar share cited lower taxes (19%) and concerns about safety and crime (17.9%).

And one in 10 (10.6%) gave yet another reason—not wanting to deal with discrimination in their neighborhood. A slightly lower percentage (8.6%) listed concerns about the impact of climate change on their neighborhood as their reason to relocate.

As the different reasons indicate, homeowners focus on what’s important to them. “Real estate is all about priorities and compromise,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.

Related: RTO creep? Companies kicking return-to-office mandates up a notch

But the biggest reason is a desire for more space with one-third of respondents (33.8%) citing it as the catalyst, followed by desire to be closer to family (22.6%), and then a lower cost of living (21.6%). During the pandemic, many had moved for similar reasons—to have more space to work from home and for their kids to do homework, as well as to have family closeby to be part of their pod.

Now, to get both a bigger house and one that’s less expensive—seems like an oxymoron—when 30-year-fixed mortgage rates have climbed to 7.12%.