SEATTLE, April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The pandemic
has upended the meaning of home and prompted many of us to rethink
how and where we want to live. A new Zillow survey finds more than
1 in 10 Americans (11%) say they have already moved in the past
year1 -- by choice or by circumstance --
contributing to the Great Reshuffling, and millions of additional
households could enter the real estate market as a result of the
pandemic.
Moving remains challenging, but it can bring more opportunity
now than ever before, thanks in part to the rise of remote work.
That inspired Zillow to publish its first ever Mover Report, a
data-based dive into the people and emotions driving moves this
spring home shopping season. Here's what we found:
People want or need to move, even in a pandemic
Zillow research has found a significant number of homeowners say
they're more likely to move and sell their home as a result of the
pandemic, representing an additional 2.5 million households that
could enter a real estate market already driven by unrelenting
demand.2
Life and financial uncertainty are among the top reasons
homeowners have not listed their home for sale during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 vaccine is likely to change that and prompt many more
people to move. Zillow data finds a large majority of
homeowners (70%) say they would be mostly or completely comfortable
moving to a new home when there is widespread vaccine
distribution.
More than 1 in 10 Americans (11%) have already moved during the
pandemic, according to a new survey from Zillow conducted online by
the Harris Poll. Among those recent movers, three quarters (75%)
say they moved for positive reasons, such as being closer to family
or friends or living in an area they've always dreamed
of.3 New flexibility to telework has opened
up those opportunities for many, and new real estate technology,
like Zillow's 3D home tours and interactive floor plans, has
enabled movers to get an immersive experience of a home from
hundreds or thousands of miles away, offering added confidence for
buyers shopping remotely.
The Sun Belt tops moving destinations
Phoenix, Charlotte, N.C., and Austin, Texas, saw the highest net inbound
moves in the first 11 months of 2020, as recent movers sought out
relative affordability and warmer weather.4
Those Sun Belt metros are expected to continue to surge in 2021.
Zillow's panel of experts predicted the Austin and Phoenix housing markets will outperform the
national market this year.
Data from northAmerican® Van
Lines also finds some of the country's largest and most
expensive housing markets saw the highest net outbound moves,
including New York, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Chicago.
Zillow saw for-sale inventory in these metros climb in the city,
while inventory nationally hit new lows.
"The pandemic brought an acceleration of trends we were seeing
in 2018 and 2019," says Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker. "More affordable, medium-sized
metro areas across the Sun Belt saw significantly more people
coming than going, especially from more expensive, larger cities
farther north and on the coasts. The pandemic has catalyzed
purchases by millennial first-time buyers, many of whom can now
work from anywhere."
Moving remains stressful
The pandemic brought the rise of Zillow surfing as people look
to escape their reality or create a new one. But the path from
dreaming to moving can come with financial, logistical and
emotional obstacles.
Zillow's survey finds nearly a third of recent movers (31%) say
they had been dreaming about moving for a year or longer. More than
three quarters of recent movers (76%) say emotional factors had
been holding them back from making their most recent move. Stress
over not being financially prepared to make the move and the
expectation that the moving process would be hard or stressful were
the most commonly cited factors. Nearly a quarter (23%) of recent
movers say the concern that their move would cause stress for their
child(ren) held them back from making their most recent
move.
Those concerns have merit: about half of all recent movers say
they experienced stress (55%) and anxiety (48%) during their most
recent move. 5
Moving opens new possibilities
After their most recent move, more than half of Americans said
they experienced happiness (54%) and relief (53%). A vast majority
of recent movers - 80% - say their most recent move was worth
it.
Many recent movers say starting a new chapter in their life was
among the most rewarding parts of moving to a new home. Nearly 3 in
5 recent movers (59%) say positive life events happened after their
most recent move, most commonly citing that they fulfilled a dream
or became passionate about something new.
6
That's what happened to Darren and
Yolande Rollinson of Dallas,
Texas, who say their two children were elated when they
moved into their new home. The Rollinsons had been living in their
self-described starter home for 24 years and needed more space, but
they had put off a move because of their demanding jobs and concern
over the stress of home buying and selling.
The Rollinsons found their solution by selling to Zillow Offers.
They avoided repairs, open houses and showings, and they got to set
their closing date, allowing them to move into their new home in
less than a month. Their Zillow Offers advisor walked them through
the whole process, which they described as "peaceful, productive
and well planned out."
"The future for us is growth," says Darren Rollinson, who works in the medical
field. "Now we believe we can do anything. We know we've made an
achievement. We can keep on growing and take bigger steps."
(Watch the Rollinsons' moving story here.)
Tech tools are making it easier to move
The pandemic accelerated the development and adoption of real
estate technology that has helped eliminate some of the most
stressful parts of a move. Virtual tools like Zillow's 3D home
tours and interactive floor plans make it faster and easier to shop
for a home and winnow down the options.
Today's buyers overwhelmingly want those tools to be available
during the home shopping process, according to Zillow research.
Nearly four in five (79%) Americans would like to view a virtual
tour and a digital floor plan if they were shopping for a home.
Homes on Zillow with a 3D Home tour were saved by buyers 32% more
than homes without, and got, on average, 29% more views than
listings without.7
High-tech services like Zillow Offers can remove the anxiety and
uncertainty of selling a home traditionally, and timing the sale
with the purchase of a new home. Financing and closing services
through Zillow can also happen digitally, allowing buyers and
sellers to transact remotely.
… but a partner can make change possible
A trusted real estate agent can be a steady hand, guiding a home
buyer or seller through the entire process. Zillow Premier Agents
are local experts who understand a move is both a physical and
emotional journey.
Cierra DeVille, a Zillow Premier
Agent with Active Realty in Irvine,
Calif., relied on empathy and compassion to help a
Nashville-based family manage the
stress of a cross-country move. By listening to their unique needs
and using her local knowledge, DeVille found them the perfect
off-market property.
"The excitement and gratitude they had when I was able to get
them exactly what they wanted in the timeframe they wanted was pure
joy," says Deville, who helped get the family into their new home
before their daughter's fifth birthday. "There's nothing
better."
About Zillow Group:
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate
to make it easier to unlock life's next chapter.
As the most-visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates
offer customers an on-demand experience for selling, buying,
renting or financing with transparency and nearly seamless
end-to-end service. Zillow Offers® buys and sells homes directly in
dozens of markets across the country, allowing sellers control over
their timeline. Zillow Home Loans™, our affiliate lender, provides
our customers with an easy option to get pre-approved and secure
financing for their next home purchase. Zillow recently launched
Zillow Homes, Inc., a licensed brokerage entity, to streamline
Zillow Offers transactions.
Zillow Group's brands, affiliates and subsidiaries include
Zillow®; Zillow Offers®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans™;
Zillow Closing Services™; Zillow Homes, Inc.; Trulia®; Out East®;
StreetEasy® and HotPads®. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal
Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
About North American Van
Lines, Inc.:
North American Van Lines, Inc.,
established in 1933, is a wholly owned subsidiary of SIRVA Inc., a
leader in providing relocation solutions to a well-established and
diverse customer base around the world. The moving company, with
headquarters in Fort Wayne,
Indiana, and more than 500 agents worldwide, handles
corporate, government, military and private relocations, and
operates in the U.S., Canada and
more than 100 countries worldwide. Information on North
American Van Lines (U.S. DOT No.
070851) can be found on the Internet
at www.northamerican.com.
1 This survey was conducted online
within the United States by The
Harris Poll on behalf of Zillow from March
10-12, 2021 among 2,005 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among
whom 244 moved in the past year (referenced throughout as recent
movers.) This online survey is not based on a probability sample
and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting
variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact
press@zillow.com.
2 Zillow Group Population Science
collected a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000
homeowners (household decision makers that own their home and did
not move in the past year) from January
26th to January
29th, 2021.
3 See footnote 1
4 Based on SIRVA / North American
Van Lines data for moves in the
first 11 months of 2020. Origin and destination MSA are assigned
based on ZIP code
5 See footnote 1
6 See footnote 1
7 Based on Jul
2020 – Dec 2020 data.
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