“Since many – especially tech companies – will allow their employees to work remotely even after the end of the pandemic, we see many people moving away from San Francisco and other big and expensive areas,” said Nadia Evangelou, a senior economist and director of forecasting with the National Association of Realtors (NAR). “Since they can keep their jobs, they move to a more affordable area.”

For instance, Evangelou said, in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are about 500 homes currently listed for sale that a household earning $100,000-$125,000 can afford to buy.

Compared with the number of households that earn that income, there is one affordable listing for every 310 households, she said. However, there is one affordable listing for every 134 households in that income range in Austin, Texas.

“Thus, people in Austin metro area are more likely to become homeowners,” Evangelou said. “With teleworking expected to continue even after the end of the pandemic, we anticipate more people will do the same.”