New American Dream

A new trend is invading US housing market: in the face of pandemic, buyers are increasingly interested in rural countryside homes. This is a reaction to the rapid spread of coronavirus in densely populated cities such as New York, experts say. Happy home owners in the wilderness, somewhere in Montana or Wyoming rub their hands in the light of possible smile of fortune. Almost everyone are frantically looking for property to buy or rent away from big cities.

Typically, selling homes in villages takes longer than in cities, but this is not the case right now. Amid a pandemic, the demand for such shelters is growing rapidly. According to Redfin, online views of homes in rural areas has skyrocketed in a week by March 23 by 115% compared to last year, while views in small cities rose sharply by 88%.

Wealthy Americans are already investing in homes that are isolated from the outside world. Agents in California report unusual requests, buyers are looking for housing in places that can hardly be reached by ATV or on foot.

The situation with coronavirus could lead to a shift in investment from urbanization to villages. “For the high-end real estate sector, this is very likely to have a lasting effect: people will want to own more distant property and be able to leave the city,” said Taylor Marr, lead economist at Redfin.

Every time there is something that changes our view of the world, this is reflected in consumer behavior. And we will feel it, even when everything returns to the way it was before and probably preference for remote homes is likely to remain slightly elevated.