As more people are vaccinated and the economy improves, many companies are expecting employees to return to their office. This may be shifting homebuyers' location choices once again, according to Archana Pradhan, a principal, economist, at CoreLogic, in a recent blog.

The pandemic has influenced homebuyers' decision on where to buy a home. Previous analysis showed that homebuyers who relocated to another metro in 2020 were often choosing areas that were either adjacent to their current location, had a lower cost of living or both. 

Affordability, outdoor amenities, and job opportunities have always been important factors of migration, but their relative importance changed during the pandemic. Remote work reduced the need to live near an employer and allowed families to broaden their home-buying search, while affordability and other external amenities accelerated the homebuyer's migration rate.