And we’re back. Everyone here is hoping everyone out there has taken some time to breathe a little of the relatively COVID-free air and begin to think about what a return to (the new) normal looks like. In that spirit, this week’s chart is from data provided by Redfin, a national real estate brokerage, on Q1 2021 relocation searches. One of the consequential impacts of COVID and the shutdown was an acceleration of outward migration from major urban centers. We are at a point in the generational cycle where it was to be expected with Millennials anyway, but the urgency was ramped up considerably. With companies reimagining what a workforce and a workplace look like, many people with knowledge economy jobs are able to quite literally work from anywhere. Residential real estate in less urban, less expensive and more desirable areas like Denver, CO (this week’s chart) have seen a crush of interest from urban economic centers and a rapid rise in prices as a result. We envision some of this will reverse, but much of the population movement is likely permanent, changing the economics of numerous communities across the country.
