Widespread Vaccinations Would Make 14 Million Homeowners More Comfortable Moving

Half of the respondents to Zillow’s recent survey say they would be largely comfortable with moving homes now, while 70% said they would feel largely comfortable after widespread vaccinations. According to Zillow, this equates to 14 million Americans who would feel comfortable moving after vaccinations. If the anxiety from moving during the pandemic does fade with vaccinations, this could mean those sellers hesitant to list now would likely enter the market. While this would pump more homes into the market, it will bring more buyers hungry for new homes as well. 

Under current conditions, homeowners were more likely to say they feel comfortable moving to a new home (52% of those surveyed said so) than going out to dinner inside a restaurant (44%), sending children to school in person (43%), going on vacation (37%) and/or attending a live performance, concert, or sporting event (23%). While the share that currently feel comfortable moving is comparatively high, the percentage that said they expect to be comfortable selling and moving is even higher: 70%. Applied to the American Community Survey’s count of all owner-occupied housing units this gap between those that currently feel comfortable moving and those that expect to after widespread vaccination amounts to homeowners in more than 14 million homes feeling newly comfortable moving. 

Among homeowners who said the pandemic impacted their decision to move, 60% said it made them less likely to move. But among those that said the vaccine would impact their decision, 78% said they expect it to make them more likely to move. With widespread vaccine distribution, majorities of homeowners also said they are at least quite confident that they could sell their home for a profit (69%) and within their preferred timeline (63%). 

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