Many of the impacts of COVID-19 are not unexpected—a lack-luster economy, high joblessness, and vulnerability for the future, among other things. What has been astounding is its effect on hiring trends and real estate everywhere in the country. During economic uncertainty, a booming residential real estate market is anything other than ordinary. There has also been an obvious reduction, by as much as 20% in commercial rentals/leases by some estimates. So, what's driving this upturn in the residential real estate market?
The mass move to remote work for more than half of working Americans has significantly influenced how and where employees need to live. Although the trend towards remote work initially appeared to be temporary, as months of social distance precautions wore on, an ever-increasing number of organizations chose to incorporate remote work into their long-term hiring plans. Furthermore, this shift towards remote work has altered the real estate market more than ever.
From the start, the association between remote work and the housing sector may not have been evident. But careful examination of housing trends shows how interrelated the two are.
When you work remotely throughout each day, your living space's size becomes a much more critical consideration. Do you have the space for a home office? Is it a location where you're glad to work for at least 40 hours per week? Is your spouse working remotely too, and is there room for them to work uninterrupted? How about your children? Do they have space in the house where they can attend online learning?
Between the demand for personal space caused by remote work and the impact of long-term isolation, people are assessing if their present home truly is the right place for their family. Before the pandemic, it made sense for office-bound workers to remain geographically close to their place of employment. It allowed them to reduce their commuting costs (gas, transportation, etc.) and afforded them more free time at home, even if it meant they remained in small, expensive homes in urban areas.
With the increasing opportunities to work remotely, candidates have found proximity to the office is not their primary concern anymore and not even a necessity, in some cases. Candidates are free to choose to live in less costly rural areas or even in another state or country!
This unexpected shift in the way we live and work has prompted homebuyers to look for alternative places to live. Whether it's a mass migration from costly, confined quarters in the city to larger rural abodes or just a change of pace to a simpler way of life, this trend is causing a housing shortage in communities that do not have enough inventory to meet the demand.
As more organizations choose to expand remote work opportunities in the coming months, the pool of available high-caliber candidates willing to take in-office roles will diminish. A study based on Jobtracks' applicant data revealed that 40% of title insurance candidates would not change jobs unless the job offered were remote. 70% said they preferred a remote opportunity but might move for a much higher compensation if the offer was not remote.
So, what can employers do to find good employees as the hiring trend intensifies towards remote work? On the one hand, you as an employer can embrace the remote work trend and adopt it in your organization. Not only will it open up the talent pool of qualified candidates available to you, but it will reduce rent/lease expenses by reducing the size of the needed office.
On the other hand, should you wish to maintain a mainly brick and mortar style organization, you may have to increase your salary compensation offer to candidates to find candidates in your area that are willing to work in an office.
If you are seriously considering making the move towards a remote work environment, there are many companies which can assist you in this transition, including Jobtracks and Qualia.
For example, Qualia's platform is a secure, cloud-based title, escrow, and closing platform used by top title and escrow companies in the country. The remote accessibility of this platform makes it ideal for running a remote workforce. To see Qualia’s product offering, click here.
Jobtracks' ability to find qualified Qualia remote candidates makes it easier for employers to tap into a pool of existing candidates should they want to shift their operations remotely. Please take a look at the map below to see qualified Qualia candidates in Jobtracks' database. Qualia Qualified Candidates
JobTracks is a staffing company dedicated to the Title Industry. JobTracks was built by Matt Johnston. Matt was formerly a Title Insurance professional who saw an opportunity to provide best in class staffing to the Industry in which he grew up. As a former Operations Manager for a Los Angeles Title Company, Matt saw a glaring need for a qualified staffing company dedicated to the Title Industry. In 2011 that need became Jobtracks, which he built into a national Title Insurance Staffing Company.
We believe in thinking differently. Everything we do is designed to test the status quo of recruiting in the Title Industry. We are a leading provider of nationwide staffing solutions and placement services to the Title Industry nationwide. We offer a full complement of staffing services, each carefully designed to address any hiring scenario you may face. Our core service offerings include contract staffing, contract-to-permanent, and permanent placement services. We realize that your business is unique; therefore, JobTracks customizes solutions to best fit your needs. If you would like to learn more, please feel free to reach out to us.
For more information about Jobtracks', please visit the homepage on our website.