Most human beings are creatures of habit. In other words, we tend to have our daily routines in how we go about living our lives and working. Of course, the pandemic has greatly changed many of our routines, including how we work. With the push towards social distancing, the remote working environment has exploded in the past 15 months or so. This has led to a need for additional space in the home and thus has driven many homeowners to move to larger homes to accommodate these needs. In addition, the boom in remote working environments has even led to many Americans moving to new states such as Florida, while still being employed by their same employer in a different state.
Back to the office?
After many months of keeping their workforce at home, many South Florida companies are now urging their employees to return to the office. Most often, this is being done as a hybrid schedule which offers the flexibility of working from home and the office. While some people prefer to continue working remotely from home, others are feeling a sense of burn out with working from their homes and are eager to return to the office setting.
The real estate service firm, CBRE, recently conducted a national survey of 185 companies to determine how companies were handling a return to the office. Overall, it appears that most companies now see the office as a better means of supporting collaborative work than relying on remote communications. CBRE’s “Spring 2021 Occupier Survey” found 41% of companies interviewed intend to return to steady office use in the third quarter of this year, while 20% are targeting the fourth quarter. Another 23% said their workers have already returned to their places of employment.
Summary
The impact from the boom in remote working environments has been a significant driver for the South Florida residential real estate market over the past year. Although many companies have realized ways to cut costs while maintaining productivity with their workforce working remotely, there still are some advantages to the traditional office space. Overall, things such as on the job training are always better performed in person. Although technologies such as Zoom and other platforms are great, there is no substitution for the human element of in-person engagements.
Moving forward, it is largely expected that many employers will implement a hybrid approach to the traditional office. Most likely, many employees will have some flexibility with working in their roles from home or at the office. As for residential real estate, factors such as spare bedrooms that may be converted to a home office will continue to be highly sought after by buyers.
Are you looking to buy or sell property in South Florida? Now more than ever, it is critical to have a qualified real estate team and the proper search tools behind you. At Live South Florida Realty, Inc., we have been a leader in the South Florida market for many years. Let our team of professionals assist you with buying or selling your piece of paradise today! In addition, our recently launched “Florida Home Search” app is now available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. With real-time MLS feeds, this app lets you set your own alerts to notify you as soon as a property meeting your needs hits the market. Furthermore, it will also let you know of recent closed sales in your area so that you may be even more educated on the market. Be sure to download this app for your smartphone or tablet today!
