While reports of homebuyers fleeing cities for the suburbs due to coronavirus have sometimes been overstated, the trend is still clear for those with a close-up view of the real estate market.
"You've got to understand, we had nine million folks relocate over this pandemic, and they're going to more rural areas, more suburban areas," Mike Miedler, CEO of Century 21, a real estate agent franchise company, told Cheddar. "In fact, if you look at the inventory in those marketplaces, they're down considerably compared to the cities."
Miedler noted that places such as his native New Jersey have benefited from the out-migration, while major cities such as San Francisco, Boston, and New York have lost residents — though he predicts those same places will make a comeback after the pandemic.
"That's not to say the cities won't come back," he said. "New York will be strong and alive for many, many years to come — greatest city on the face of the Earth — but right now people are looking for more property in rural and more suburban communities."
Some of the hottest destinations, he added, are mountain towns with plenty of vacation homes.
"In fact, I just talked to our folks up in Jackson Hole[, Wyoming]," he said. "They're up 375 percent from last year because you've got a lot of people who are looking for, again, more property or vacation homes. Vacation homes are on fire across the country. I think they're up over 20 percent year-over-year."
Within Century 21, meanwhile, COVID has meant a period of adjustment, as agents transition to working with clients remotely for much of the real estate process. This does not mean that technology is taking over the agent-driven business, though, Miedler stressed.
"There's 180 steps in the real estate process, from the time that you actually look online and make an offer until the time you close and hand over those keys, and now more than ever you need a real estate professional who knows their local market inside and out to help navigate that process," he said.
