Twenty-five percent of American workers work remotely more frequently after moving, a recent study by Redfin revealed. Furthermore, 60 percent of survey respondents said their ability to afford non-housing expenses and leisure activities improved after their move.

“Of people who moved specifically for affordability reasons, a slightly higher share said they couldn’t have relocated without remote work, indicating that remote work has enabled workers to move to areas with more affordable homes,” the survey stated.

Redfin’s survey polled 272 U.S. residents during the month of December who signaled they had moved to a new metro area within the past year or had plans to move within the next year. The survey asked why they moved, where they moved to and from and how remote work factored into their relocation. Three-quarters of those surveyed were located in Los Angeles, California; San Francisco, California; New York, New York; Seattle, Washington and Boston, Massachusetts.

“The job market is very tight and employers want to hold on to people, so companies are much more willing now to allow workers to move,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in a statement. “Plus, technology has enabled employers to let staff work remotely in a cost-efficient and productive manner.”

The survey also showed a slight increase in frequency of working remotely after a move. About 51 percent of workers stated that they worked remotely after their move, compared to 44 percent who worked remotely before their move.

In general, younger demographics saw greater increases in remote work after relocating, with participants 38-years-old and younger seeing a rise to 55.5 percent working remotely sometimes or always after moving up from 46.9 percent working remotely before moving. With participants who were 39 and older, they saw a more modest increase to 49.2 percent working remotely sometimes or always after moving compared to 42.7 percent who worked remotely before moving.

The majority of survey respondents cited a desire for more affordable housing as their reason for moving with 25.7 percent giving this reason. The second most cited reason, at 21.2 percent of respondents, was moving in order to be closer to family or partners and following that, 17.9 percent of respondents cited moving because of retirement.

Redfin

Most respondents who moved away from their metro area because of affordability concerns moved away from the Bay Area; Los Angeles, California and Seattle, Washington. Individuals who sought out more affordable metro areas relocated to Phoenix, Arizona; Sacramento, California and Portland, Oregon.

Email Lillian Dickerson

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×