Renters Are Moving to Suburbs, Propelled by COVID & Remote Work

New York, NY, October 14, 2020-The pandemic and onset of mass remote work has propelled apartment dwellers to the suburbs, reports The Wall Street Journal in an article called “Renters Flock to Suburbia, Upending Decadelong Urbanization Trend” by Peter Grant.

"Apartment rents are rising in suburban markets across the U.S. as city dwellers look for bigger spaces in smaller towns.

“Many of suburbia’s new tenants say that this year’s shift to a work-at-home model removed a longstanding barrier to living in these neighborhoods, namely a sometimes aggravating commute to a downtown city office building.

“Suburban homes also offer more room and outdoor space for the dollar. These towns’ more-limited cultural and culinary attractions matter less when many city museums, shops, bars and restaurants have closed or are operating at partial capacity.

“Even with the U.S. economy in recession, apartment rents in the suburban markets of Sacramento, Norfolk, Va., and the Inland Empire of Southern California rose 3.2% to 4.6% at the end of the third quarter compared with March, according to data firm CoStar Group Inc.

“‘They’re markets that are close enough to cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., that allow people to be close enough to go into the office if they really needed to, but far enough to save,’ said John Affleck, CoStar’s vice president in charge of market analytics.