The way the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily life may drive the population away from big cities into small towns, with businesses following, which will change demand for real estate, according to a new report.
Through an exploration of trends the virus has brought to retail, office, hotel and residential real estate, as well as the air travel and vacation industries, the report by Fitch Ratings, a global credit-rating and research company, makes some predictions for the future.
City center real estate may take a hit, since remote work-from-home arrangements make it possible for office workers to live further away from the office, said the Fitch report, "The Next Phase: Coronavirus Accelerates Changes to the Structured Finance Landscape."
|Housing shift
Newly remote workers may transform the residential real estate landscape because of a desire to move to suburban or rural cities. They need bigger homes to fit in their home offices, the report said. People also want outdoor living space because of their experiences during lockdowns.
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Angela Morris
Angela Morris is ALM Media's Texas litigation reporter. She covers lawsuits in all levels of Texas state and federal courts. Based in Austin, Morris earned journalism and government degrees from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, and since then, has worked primarily as a reporter and writer, but also has skills in videography, photography and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter at @AMorrisReports.
