VoxTalks Economics S8 Ep37: The effect of working from home on house prices
Jul 18, 2025
Morgane Richard, a Stanford researcher specializing in remote work's effects on housing markets, shares insights on how the shift to working from home has reshaped housing preferences. She explores the surge in demand for larger homes outside urban centers as people seek more space due to flexible work arrangements. The discussion highlights economic disparities, with non-remote workers bearing the brunt of rising costs, and underscores the need for policy changes to address the inequalities created in the housing market. It's a compelling look at the new dynamics of home buying in a post-Covid world.
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Remote Work Alters Housing Choices
- Work from home weakens the link between living and working locations, changing household housing decisions drastically.
- This shift impacts where people choose to settle, buy, or rent homes with major implications for households.
Remote Work Benefits the Privileged
- Remote work benefits mainly higher-educated, skilled, and higher-wage workers, creating an asymmetric impact.
- This uneven shock could widen inequalities in housing demand and location preferences.
Housing Prices Transfer Remote Work Effects
- Increased housing demand by remote workers raises prices that non-remote workers must pay.
- The housing market amplifies remote work's effects, spreading impacts beyond just those working from home.