Sustainability Infrastructure

Remote work has caused housing prices to shoot up: study

The shift to remote work caused by the pandemic has accounted for over half of the nearly 24 percent housing price increase from 2019 to 2021. 

Story at a glance


  • A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research argues that remote work has played a part in raising housing prices across the country.

  • The study also states that remote work has also “relocated” housing demand as people move to places more suited for remote work.  

  •   Study crafters believe that remote work has contributed to around 15 percent of the almost 24 percent increase in housing costs that occurred between 2019 and 2021.

A national shift to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused housing prices to go up, according to a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.  

The paper — written by Johannes Wieland from the department of economics at the University of California, San Diego and John Mondragon from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco — claims that remote work accounted for 15.1 percent of the 23. 8 percent increase in housing prices between 2019 and 2021.  

In addition, the study states, remote work has relocated national housing demands as workers move to places suited for remote work.  


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In the study, Mondragon and Wieland note that by the end of last November, over 42 percent of the United States workforce was working from home at least part time.  

“House price growth over the pandemic reflected a change in fundamentals rather than a speculative bubble, and that fiscal and monetary stimulus were less important factors,” the study crafters wrote. “This implies that policy makers need to pay close attention to the evolution of remote work as an important determinant of future house price growth and inflation.” 

A typical home in the United States has a value of $344,141, according to Zillow’s home value index, which only includes middle price tier homes.  

That price represents an over 20 percent increase from last year, the website adds.  


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