Real Estate Institute of New South Wales president Leanne Pilkington expects the COVID-19 pandemic will result in increased demand for rural and regional properties. Pilkington says the virus has made people realise how easy it is work from home, and that they do not need to live in big cities any more for their work.
Meanwhile, regional and urban planner Bette O’Brien says regional economies will get the biggest benefit from a post-pandemic migration if people from all age groups relocate from urban areas.
From The New Daily:
“I think we have all realised now that we can work from home very effectively and we don’t actually need to travel to meetings like we used to,” Ms Pilkington said.
“So that is likely to end up with people thinking, ‘Maybe I don’t need to live in the city’”…
“The best outcome for this, in terms of the economy of the regions, would be for all age groups to start moving so you’re having young families who still need to purchase a home, things that are actually going to stimulate the economy a lot,” she said.
A similar theme has been picked up at Business Insider:
The coronavirus crisis has proved that companies can remain productive over Zoom.
Remote work will become more common than ever, which will mean fewer people head to the office.
Let’s hope these pundits are proven right.
Working from home offers major sustainability benefits and cost savings, given it reduces the strain on both the public transport and road systems, alleviating congestion, reducing pollution and mitigating the need for expensive investments to boost capacity.
With so many Australians now working behind computers in so-called ‘knowledge jobs’, and with broadband internet coverage almost universal, there is little justification in requiring employees to travel to a central location every day.
