When we shared a blog with you back in March of 2019 about Bend being a destination for remote workers, we had an idea this trend would continue, but couldn’t have imagined that how—and where—people work would be dramatically affected by a pandemic a year later. Even more surprising to us in 2020 and into last year was how this seismic shift in remote working had a huge impact on the residential real estate market in Bend.

In the past year and a half, we’ve worked with many sellers and buyers who are making real estate decisions based in part on their ability to work from wherever they want to because they were no longer commuting to an office. While some people have moved away from Bend to be near family, many more are choosing to migrate to Bend from all over the country. As we’ve described in our market trend blogs, this created an incredibly competitive dynamic and significantly reduced available inventory of homes for sale in Bend for over a year, but our recent data shows that inventory is starting increase.

Anecdotal observations about migration due to the pandemic are now being backed up by statistics. According to new data reported by LinkedIn, Bend tops the list of smaller cities for people seeking remote work. During a 12-month period through August 2021, the national rate for remote job applications on LinkedIn was 21.3%. During that same time period, the rate of remote job applicants from Bend was 41.8%.

The title of the chart in the LinkedIn article says it succinctly: “Nice home; faraway job.”

In addition to the trend of remote workers migrating to Bend to have a “nice home,” there are other trends that we’re seeing relative to local real estate. Many buyers are looking for larger houses and well-designed floor plans to accommodate more time spent at home. And, for many buyers who are working remotely, a dedicated home office is a must-have.

Although there are some distinctions being made by business media between the definitions of remote, hybrid, and work-from-home experiences, one thing is clear: flexible work schedules are here to stay for many people.

Fortunately, for remote workers who crave a separate workspace outside of the home there are great co-working offices in Bend. These spaces generally provide options for flexible, as-needed desks, dedicated desks, and private offices as well as phone rooms and conference rooms. And even a visit to one of our local coffee shops or cafes can help break up a work-from-home day and minimize distractions.

Our team continues to split time between our office on Newport Avenue and our homes, and this recent episode of Life Kit offers some great tips for navigating a hybrid work setup. We were fortunate to be a tight-knit group before the pandemic kept us from working together every day in our office, and our collaboration and consistent communication has been key to our remote working success.

If you’re looking for a home in Bend with a little more space—and maybe even a dedicated home office—you can see our current listings here. We also enjoy helping new Bendites learn how to embrace the Bend lifestyle and are here to answer your questions about relocation.

— Jason

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