As it stands today, roughly 52% of homeowners say they would be comfortable moving to a new home under the current public health conditions, but the percentage of comfortable homeowners increases to 70% after widespread COVID-19 vaccine distribution, according to a recent Zillow survey of U.S. homeowners. Manny Garcia, Zillow population scientist, says that’s a difference equal to more than 14 million households feeling newly comfortable moving once the vaccine is administered to a larger portion of the population.
“We expect that the vaccine rollout will likely boost inventory, as sellers become increasingly willing to move despite COVID-19, resulting in greater numbers of new listings beginning this spring,” says Garcia in the Zillow report. “That injection of inventory could give buyers more options and breathing room in a competitive market. The vaccine, however, will also likely add to already-strong demand, given that most sellers will become buyers as they trade in for a home that better suits their new needs.”
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%).
Consistent with previous Zillow research, younger homeowners were more likely to report having plans to sell within the next three years: 37% of Gen Z and millennial homeowners said they had such plans. These younger homeowners were also more likely to say that the pandemic impacted their decision to move. About one in four Gen Z and millennial homeowners (26%) said it did, compared with 15% of Gen X and 9% of boomer and silent generation homeowners. Generational differences in expectations that the vaccine will impact such plans are similar: 26% of Gen Z and millennial homeowners said they expect it to have an impact, while only 15% of Gen X and 10% of boomer and silent generation homeowners said the same.
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