Inc. Magazine|September 2024
In 2020, the world turned upside down—and so did the real estate market. But despite a global pandemic, strict lockdowns that briefly halted home showings, and a double-digit unemployment rate, the housing market did not crash in 2020. Instead, it soared, with a significant surge in home prices, home sales, and housing demand, bolstered by historically low mortgage rates, increased remote work and demand for space, and stimulus measures. Between March 2020 and June 2022, U.S. home prices jumped a staggering 43 percent. This phenomenon, which I call the pandemic housing boom, defied expectations.
The boom created a historic tailwind for almost the entire real estate sector, with the exception of office real estate, which saw vacancy rates spike as remote work took off. As offices emptied, workers built out…
