With large companies extending their work-from-home policies economists are predicting that real estate trends might shift and cause a “suburban boom” in the housing market. These trends in the job market could lead to housing preferences that move away from dense metropolitan areas and an outward migration of young families that could be considered the new “hipsturbia”.

Moving away from the central core can offer affordability at the cost of your time and gas money. Relaxing those costs by working remotely could mean more households can choose those larger homes farther out. As people reconsider housing options in conjunction with remote work, the amount of space desired by home shoppers will also shift. Larger homes, especially those with extra rooms or home offices, will be in high demand. Prior to this pandemic, the growing affordability crisis in the city was also having a major impact on the suburban real estate surge.

However, a shift to living further out of the metropolitan core is not without its drawbacks, which is why economists do not predict that the market surge will extend to more rural areas. Moving away from the city means they’d also be moving farther from a wider variety of restaurants, shops, yoga studios and art galleries, so proximity to the urban core is still crucial. The pandemic will ultimately lead to a change in how we work and live.

The freehold market recorded a 37% increase in new listings last week. The increase is widespread across the entire core of the city. The number of sold properties saw a slight drop, but a strong 56% sold at or above the list price. The condo market is starting to pick up again. There has been a steady increase in listings and last week sales were up 21% from the previous week, and condos selling at or above the list price are hovering in the 20-30% range.