According to Deal Sikes, more and more people are looking for homes outside of urban areas like Houston because of the COVID-19 pandemic keeping them home.
"Corporate trends in the workplace, such as working from home, have fueled suburban housing markets," said Mark Sikes, principal at Deal Sikes. "Even employees who will only work from home one or two days a week in the future will be more open to life in the suburbs and suburbs."
Deal Sikes is a Houston, Texas-based valuation firm providing valuation and advisory services to real estate firms, government agencies, law firms, and investors in the area.
Sikes said developers and builders wanted to buy land and land in counties outside of Houston.
"As this trend emerges, attitudes toward long commutes will change and homebuyers will respond by moving further outward," Sikes said, adding that retail market growth will follow suburban housing market growth.
The growing trend towards suburban living is compounded by the age of the millennial population. Children born between 1981 and 1996 no longer look for neighborhoods with good schools to raise young children and to put down roots.
Homeownership and low mortgage rates make it an attractive time for potential home buyers, and the high cost of living in the city coupled with the remaining hotspots of the pandemic in urban areas have pushed buyers out of the city centers. Companies have also made it possible for employees to work from home full time, which cuts the long road to an office right now. Companies have also begun to choose to move to suburban corporate locations.
"Rising taxes and the challenges of urban living and transportation are pushing individuals to travel to the suburbs," said Matthew Deal, principal at Deal Sikes. "The affordability of suburban living is appealing to a growing number of people, which will impact commercial property markets across the country."
