This work policy is driving more millennials to buy a home in Suburbia

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in the great game of real estate, there is a new king on the board. Suburbs aren’t just surviving, they’re thriving, and it’s all thanks to the game changer that is flexible work. Who needs a skyscraper view when your office is your living room and your commute is a simple walk from bed to desk?

“We hope WFH capacity will continue to be an incentive for young families to seek more remote suburban and rural markets where housing can be more affordable,” a recent Bank of America report report suggests. It is like exchanging an urban apartment in a sardine can for a comfortable and spacious house. It is not an exact science; it’s just the art of getting the job done work for you.

The five-day workweek, like the dodo, is headed for extinction. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says, “A little longer commute is no problem” if you’re not in the office Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. Not when you have the flexibility to decide. where and when you work Why put up with the daily urban rat race when you can occasionally roll with the laid-back pace of the suburbs?

Related: A new remote work trend is helping employers retain talent amid job market pressures

Millennials: not so urban after all

Remember when we thought millennials were city dwellers, with their Uber rides and brunch habits? It turns out that they are embracing the suburban dream as eagerly as a child reaching for the last piece of pizza.

Hyojung Lee, a professor of home and property management at Virginia Tech, humorously notes, “We’ve always talked about millennials as urban people… But it turns out they’re not so cool anymore.” In fact, about 45% of millennials now plan to buy homes in the suburbs, according to a recent Bank of America survey. That’s an increase from 33% on 2015. Maybe it’s not about being “cool” anymore but about being “smart.”

The gourmet exodus: a culinary revolution in the suburbs

This new suburban migration is not just about homes and workplaces. It is also transforming the dining landscape. Urban retail vacancies surpassed suburban ones in 2022, for the first time since 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal. Like ants at a picnic, restaurants and retailers flock to these thriving urban centers.

Consider the salad chain, Sweetgreen. Once a downtown staple, it is now making the suburbs its main scene with 50% of its locations located there. And it’s not just about salads—even big-name chefs are choosing suburban cities for their next culinary adventures. It’s like the suburbs have become the new Manhattan for the restaurant world.

The face of the suburbs is also changing. Long associated with homogeneity, suburbs are now surpassing the national average for racial diversity, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution. The white fence stereotype is slowly giving way to a vibrant mosaic of cultural diversity.

The City Still Stands: A Reality Check

Despite this suburban boom, urban centers are not yet ready to throw in the towel. Yun reminds us that people are returning to city centers, even in the hybrid work era. And while the suburbs close to the cities are flourishing, demand in the far suburbs has dropped significantly since the peak of the pandemic.

So in this great game of real estate, it’s not about cities losing or suburbs winning. It’s about recognizing that the playing field is changing. As we embrace the flexibility that technology gives us, our lifestyle preferences evolve as well. like me tell my clients whom I helped discover their return to office and hybrid work plansYou need to go where your employees are, rather than just trying to impose a top-down command control structure on them, at least if you want to retain your best talent.

Related: You should let your team decide your approach to hybrid work. A behavioral economist explains why and how you should do it.

Cognitive biases: invisible forces that shape our choices

Beneath our decision-making processes, cognitive biases he often runs the show. They are like puppeteers, subtly influencing our choices and judgments. Two key biases that could be influencing this suburban migration are the status quo bias and the anchoring bias.

First, let’s consider the status quo bias. This is our tendency to prefer things to stay the same without doing anything or sticking with our current or previous decision. With the onset of the pandemic, the status quo was disrupted, forcing us to adjust to a new “normal”: working from home.

For many, this temporary change has become a comfortable routine. The novelty has disappeared, replaced by the bias of the status quo. We have become accustomed to the comfort, freedom and flexibility of remote work. The prospect of returning to our old lifestyles—the daily commute, rigid office hours—seems more daunting than sticking with the new status quo.

Anchoring bias, on the other hand, refers to our tendency to place too much trust in the first information we come across (the “anchor”) when making decisions. When the pandemic hit, the “anchor” for many was the vision of a lifestyle free from commuting and the constraints of the office. This initial impression has strongly influenced subsequent decisions about work and living conditions.

Plus, as we’ve seen suburban living flourish, with thriving commercial spaces, diverse communities, and the promise of a more balanced lifestyle, these positive first impressions have only been reinforced. The anchor has been dropped and you have landed firmly in suburban territory.

By understanding these cognitive biases, we can make more informed decisions about our work and lifestyle choices. As we navigate this era of change, it’s crucial to challenge our biases, question our assumptions, and remain open to all possibilities. Only then can we truly make the most of the opportunities presented by the future of work.

Conclusion

In the end, whether it’s the siren song of the city or the sweet serenade of the suburbs that wins your heart, it’s clear that flexible work it has forever changed the way we live. It has reshaped not only our working lives, but also our homes, our communities, and our landscapes. The suburbs are having their moment in the sun, not as a retreat from the city, but as a compelling alternative.