As Remote Workers Return to the Suburbs, Experts Predict a Rise in New-Home Construction

For the last two decades, housing construction has made sluggish progress across the U.S., hindered by the mid-2000s housing price collapse and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. But according to GlobeSt.com, consumer preferences are shifting in a new professional age defined by remote work, and as a growing number of buyers ditch their old work commutes, many are moving outside of cities.

As a result, suburban markets are becoming more popular among buyers looking for more land at lower prices, and that rising demand has experts eyeing a long-term boom in new-home construction.

“Although home construction is contracting after recent increases in mortgage interest rates, my results suggest that in the long run, the time savings from fewer commutes could almost double single-family home construction in these metropolitan areas from its level just prior to the pandemic, an aggregate increase of 427,000 units per year,” [Jordan] Rappaport wrote. “The largest metropolitan areas, where commutes have been longest, are likely to see an especially strong boost. For example, construction is predicted to more than triple in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston metropolitan areas.” 

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