About two-thirds of surveyed Redfin.com users who relocated between March 2020 and March 2021 have the same or lower housing costs, and almost as many said their new home is the same size or bigger.
According to a recent Redfin report, 78 percent of those surveyed had the same or more disposable income after their move; 68 percent had the same or lower housing costs; 64 percent moved into a home that’s the same size or bigger than their previous residence; 80 percent have no regrets about their decision to relocate; and 80 percent are happier post-move.
“I recently worked with a couple that listed their home in Los Angeles and moved to Ohio because the wife was able to work remotely,” Los Angeles Redfin agent Lindsay Katz said in a release. “The house sold for more than $1 million and they bought a nice home in Ohio for around $400,000. The husband had been a teacher in Los Angeles, but now he’s able to stay home and raise the kids because they’re saving so much money. Their mortgage is half of what it was, taxes are lower, even food costs less. Remote work allowed them to re-evaluate their living situation and their finances.”
For 27 percent of respondents who have either moved in the last year or plan to move in the next year, living somewhere more affordable was a motivating factor in their move, and 21 percent said they relocated to live somewhere with lower taxes.
While 15 percent of respondents to Redfin’s survey have at least some regrets about their moves, most homebuyers said they feel they made the right choice.
“For most people, relocating to a different metro area probably wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction to the pandemic,” Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr said. “A lot of Americans had already been considering relocating, but they were blocked from actually making the move because they had to stay close to their office or wanted to live near friends or their child’s school. The pandemic and resulting work-from-home culture has removed some of those barriers, allowing many people to choose where they live based on factors like affordability, proximity to family and weather.
“And the loosening of social ties that come with remote work, remote schooling and a lack of in-person events made it somewhat easier for families to leave their comfort zone and try somewhere new. Those people are likely to be satisfied with their moves because the circumstances of the pandemic have allowed them to chase their dreams.”