Millions of Americans plan to move to more affordable areas amid pandemic
Increased job flexibility has given people an opportunity to relocate
The coronavirus pandemic has given many Americans more job flexibility – and, in turn, tens of millions plan to relocate.
About 14 to 23 million households, or as many as 11.5%, said they planned to relocate to another city or region, according to a study from job marketplace Upwork, with a higher percentage of residents in major cities (20.6%) saying they planned to do so.
One of the biggest motivators, for more than half of households, was the desire to live in a house that was at least 10% more affordable, the study showed.
“As our survey shows, many people see remote work as an opportunity to relocate to where they want and where they can afford to live,” Upwork chief economist Adam Ozimek said in a statement. “This is an early indicator of the much larger impacts that remote work could have in increasing economic efficiency and spreading opportunity.”
The majority of people also planned to move to a home two hours – or more – from their current location.
EXPENSIVE-CITY EXODUS LEADS TO MASSIVE RENT DECLINES IN NYC, SAN FRANCISCO
These trends may spell bad news for major cities like New York and San Francisco, but Ozimek said the migration will lead to greater economic efficiency and an equalization of opportunity throughout the U.S.
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As previously reported by FOX Business, flights from San Francisco and Manhattan have resulted in gluts of vacant apartments – which has caused rental prices to plunge.
In San Francisco, the price of a one-bedroom apartment fell more than 24% in September. In Manhattan, prices fell by 15.4%.
Overall, in the 100 largest U.S. cities, average one-bedroom rents fell 1% year-over- year during the same time period.