According to Redfin, Boise, Idaho, has seen the largest increase of homebuyer income among the 100 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. While many of the remote workers brought their higher salaries with them from their previous hometowns, employers in the cities to which they have moved have had to increase wages for their local workers in order to compete with those from out of state.
Boise is followed by other cities that have seen rapid increases in wages during the pandemic, including Austin, Texas, Cape Coral, Fla., Phoenix, Ariz., Stockton, Calif., Tacoma, Wash., and Salt Lake City.
“For white-collar workers earning high salaries, remote work is a huge financial boon. It enables them to move from a tech center like San Francisco to a more affordable part of the country like Boise or Salt Lake City, get more home for their money and save some for a rainy day,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “It can have the opposite effect on locals in those destinations–especially renters–who are watching from the sidelines as home prices skyrocket while their income stays mostly the same.”
Related Stories
Housing Policy + Finance
Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority Increases Investment for Affordable Housing
The redevelopment authority recently advanced a $42 million bond issue to fund new affordable housing projects
Housing Policy + Finance
How Detroit’s New Land Value Tax Plan Could Serve as a Model for the Nation
Detroit's mayor is introducing a new land value tax plan intended to increase funding for new construction and resolve a rental affordability crisis
Housing Markets
Supply Is Increasing, but Prices Aren’t Falling in This Overheated Metro
While some housing markets are posting price declines in a nationwide correction, cities such as Las Vegas are seeing slow sales and inflated housing costs, even as inventory rises