The growing trend of working remotely could untether Americans from office spaces in pricey areas and prompt them to buy homes elsewhere.

Home sales in the suburbs as well as smaller, less expensive cities could see a boost that continues beyond pre-pandemic levels, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Some tech companies, including Facebook, Twitter, and Square, have already announced that they will allow select employees to work remotely full time. They expect half of their workforce to work remotely within five to 10 years.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that about 75% of his employees have already expressed an interest in moving to a different city if they could work remotely.

The insurance company Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, has announced a permanent transition to working from home for some of its employees as well as a hybrid work model for others. That hybrid model includes working from smaller brick-and-mortar offices that will remain open.

Source: Could the Rise of Remote Work Spark More Home Sales? | Realtor Magazine

We closed our office in Kingman in 2007, anticipating the real estate slowdown that came after 2008. Besides the convenience of having an office in town (with a bedroom if we wanted to stay overnight,) it really didn’t seem to affect our business at all. We were pretty much always meeting people in Yucca, or by the exits on I-40, so nothing really changed at all. The only downside to having a home office, is that you’re always “at work.”