As we assess the many effects of the pandemic on our everyday life, we are also looking at long-term trends that may be with us for years. Many of these are well documented. For example, it is expected that a greater percentage of the population will work remotely in the future. This has the potential to influence traffic patterns and the need for commercial office space well into the future. There has also been a surge of Americans who are looking to move to more suburban and even rural areas.
Many of these trends were already beginning to make their mark before the pandemic took hold. Now it appears that these trends have the potential to accelerate. This includes the trend of more children coming home to live. During the Great Recession, this trend accelerated for many years and it was assumed that it would reverse as Millennials began purchasing homes. Indeed, the last few years we have seen home purchases by this generation increase significantly.
Will the pandemic cause a renewal of this trend? Zillow has indicated that millions of children have moved home during the pandemic. Many of these children were returning home from colleges, as they continued their studies remotely. The next question is–will these children stay home for a longer period of time as Millennials did during the Great Recession? Only time will tell. Our lives have changed significantly this year and some of these changes may be with us for quite some time.
Dave Hershman is the top author in the mortgage industry. Dave has published seven books, as well as hundreds of articles and is the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and Mortgage School. Want to send this commentary and other news in a personalized format to your sphere database or on social media? Sign up for a free trial at www.OriginationPro.com.