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Tracey De Simon
Coldwell Banker Realty
Remote Work & Relocation • • 12 min read

The Remote Work Effect: How Hybrid Schedules Are Changing Home Buying Across Three Markets

More than one in five American workers now does at least some of the week from home, and that one change has quietly redrawn the map of where people buy. In this guide I walk you through what the remote work shift means for buyers, sellers, and relocators in my three markets: Charlotte, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; and Naples, Florida. You will get the current numbers in each metro, the relocation news driving them, and the concrete moves I am recommending to clients this fall.

A light-filled home office corner with a laptop, coffee cup, and potted olive tree beside a large window, golden afternoon light through sheer curtains

After twenty years in real estate, I can tell you that the question every client is really asking right now is simple: what has actually changed? Interest rates get the headlines, but the deeper change is the one sitting in the spare bedroom of half the homes I tour. The home office is not a real estate trend anymore. It is the reason people are buying.

01 -- The Remote Work Effect: What the Numbers Actually Show

Let us start with the national picture, because the numbers explain so much of what I am seeing in my three markets.

Census data shows that nearly 22% of American workers age 16 and up worked from home at least some of the time in 2025, and the telework rate has held between 18% and 24% since late 2022. Zoom out and it looks even bigger. Among workers whose jobs can be done remotely, Gallup finds roughly 27% are fully remote, 52% are hybrid (averaging about 2.3 days a week at home), and just over 20% are exclusively in the office. Hybrid is no longer the exception to the rule. It is the rule.

The economic impact is bigger than most people realize. Economists at the San Francisco Fed and UC San Diego studied the pandemic-era run-up in home prices and concluded that more than half of the national 18.9% price increase traced back to remote work itself, with every additional percentage point of remote work lifting home prices by roughly 0.9%. In other words, remote work did not just move desks into dining rooms. It moved the entire housing market.

That shows up clearly in how people search. In the final quarter of 2025, 18.8% of home shoppers on Redfin looked in a completely different metro, up from 17.9% a year earlier and 15.9% five years before. Remote and hybrid workers are over-represented in those long-distance searches, and they are prioritizing what they can actually use every day: a dedicated office, a quiet street, fast internet, a yard, a school district. The commute that used to decide everything now ranks behind the lifestyle in between.

So the honest summary is this: the home is no longer just where you sleep. It is your office, your gym, your classroom, and your restaurant roll-call all at once. That changes what buyers search for, what sellers must market, and where relocators point the moving truck. And in Charlotte, St. Louis, and Naples, the effect looks different in every one of the three, so let us take them one at a time.

02 -- Charlotte: The Remote-Work Magnet Still Pulling in Talent

Charlotte is where the remote world and the in-office world meet, and that mix is precisely what makes it such a dynamic market. The metro just wrapped its best year of corporate recruitment in a decade: roughly fifteen announced projects, about 3,900 new jobs, and more than $1 billion in investment. Citigroup is expanding with hundreds of jobs, SoFi Technologies is adding 225, Daimler Truck is moving its Financial Services headquarters to Ballantyne with 276, and SMBC is establishing its second U.S. headquarters here, alongside fintech arrivals like Wayflyer and AssetMark.

Here is the part people miss: the majority of those new jobs are hybrid. The people taking them are commuting to Ballantyne or Uptown two or three days a week and working from a home office the rest. That is why I say Charlotte buyers care about two addresses, not one: the one on their ID and the one on their commute app. The city added more than 54,000 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, the fifth-highest numeric gain of any metro in the country, and roughly 157 people are still arriving every single day, many of them recruited from New York, California, and Virginia.

The market numbers reflect that steady demand. Median prices are running around $415,000 to $418,000 with about 2.4 to 2.6 months of supply, the textbook definition of balance. Days on market sit in the mid-to-upper 20s, and sellers who launched at optimistic prices over the summer are now making concessions. The close-in neighborhoods relocators love, South End, Dilworth, Plaza Midwood, and Myers Park, stay tight and competitive. The supply growth is on the west side, Steele Creek and the emerging River District, plus the northern suburbs of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson, where new construction gives buyers real negotiating room.

What the Remote Work Shift Means for Charlotte Buyers

Define your home office requirements before you tour a single home, not after you fall in love. Do you need a separate room with a door, or will a living room nook do? Does the space get natural light for video calls? Most of my remote buyers underestimate how much a shared wall or a hallway traffic pattern matters on an eight-hour workday. Write down the non-negotiables, then budget for them the way you budget for a third bedroom.

Then expand your search radius on purpose. A hybrid worker who goes into the office two days a week can trade ten extra minutes of commute for a bonus room, a bigger yard, or new construction, and most of them should. Homes listed 30 to 60 days in the supply-rich corridors are where I am routinely securing 2% to 3% in seller concessions toward closing costs or a rate buydown. Get a fully underwritten pre-approval first, and you can move the moment the right house appears, because in Charlotte the right house still does not wait long.

What the Remote Work Shift Means for Charlotte Sellers

For sellers, the remote work effect is an opportunity disguised as a to-do list. Stage a proper home office. I do not mean a desk in a corner. I mean a real workspace with a chair, a lamp, a clean wall behind it for video calls, and a fast-internet note on the listing. Buyers with hybrid jobs are making their offer decisions in that room, and a staged office photographs better than any generic bonus space.

Price within 2% of recent closed comparables on day one. The homes selling in under 30 days in Charlotte right now are priced honestly and presented beautifully; the ones sitting are the ones anchored to last year's numbers. And make the commute easy to picture. If the home is ten minutes from Ballantyne or fifteen from Uptown, say so in the marketing. Remote-capable buyers still care about their two or three office days, and the buyer who can picture the whole week is the buyer who writes the offer.

Charlotte's Remote Work Action Plan
  • Buyers: List your home office non-negotiables before you tour, and include fast internet in the search criteria.
  • Buyers: Extend the search radius 10 to 15 minutes for more space; target Steele Creek, the River District, and the northern suburbs for concessions.
  • Buyers: Get pre-approved first so you can act fast in tight neighborhoods like South End, Dilworth, and Myers Park.
  • Sellers: Stage and photograph a real home office, and publish commute times to Ballantyne and Uptown.
  • Sellers: Price within 2% of closed comps and offer a closing cost credit or buydown to win the payment-driven hybrid buyer.

03 -- St. Louis: Where Remote Pay Meets Heartland Prices

St. Louis is the value story, and remote work has made that story louder. The residential median in the greater metro has climbed to about $350,000, with city homes in the mid-$200,000s and St. Louis County in the low $300,000s. At those numbers you are buying a family home, a real yard, and a dedicated office at a fraction of the cost of the coasts, and the overall cost of living in the region runs roughly 9% below the national average. For a household holding down a remote salary from anywhere, that arithmetic is hard to argue with.

The market is loosening from its seller-favorable years. Active single-family inventory across the city and county is up about 15% year over year, months of supply has stretched to roughly 2.6 to 3.2 months depending on the county, and days on market have lengthened. Buyers have negotiating room they have not enjoyed in a while, and sellers who remember the spring of 2022 are the ones getting the wake-up calls.

The region knows it is competing for remote talent. Greater St. Louis Inc.'s 2030 jobs plan has floated cash incentives aimed at attracting remote-capable workers to the downtown core, and the employment base beneath it all is broad and stable: Edward Jones and Mastercard in financial services, Bayer and the Danforth Center in biosciences, and an aerospace cluster anchored by Boeing with Gulfstream and West Star Aviation growing faster than the national rate. That stability is exactly why St. Louis keeps drawing first-time buyers, growing families, and investors who want cash flow.

What the Remote Work Shift Means for St. Louis Buyers

St. Louis rewards the prepared buyer with space you simply cannot get elsewhere at the price. West county suburbs like Chesterfield, Wildwood, and Ballwin are seeing the most new listings and the most realistic pricing, which makes them prime territory for a hybrid worker who wants a real office and a real yard. In the city, Tower Grove South, The Grove, and the Midtown area offer affordable entry points with urban energy, and inventory up 15% means you can afford to be selective.

Use the programs built for exactly this market. Missouri's Mortgage Credit Certificate can save qualifying buyers up to roughly $2,000 a year on federal taxes, and MHDC offers down payment assistance of 3% to 4%. When your dollar needs to stretch for both a house and the office inside it, a lender who knows these programs is worth their weight in gold. And do not wait for a bargain that never comes: the best-value homes in good school districts still move within a few weeks when they are priced well.

What the Remote Work Shift Means for St. Louis Sellers

For sellers, the days of list it and wait are over, but so is the panic. Buyers have options now, and the homes that sell fast are priced honestly, presented beautifully, and often sweetened with a concession or a rate buydown contribution. I have watched too many well-meaning sellers hold to last spring's comps and go stale while a competitively priced neighbor sells in two weeks.

The playbook is simple. Fix what an inspection would flag before you list. Stage the office and the backyard, because that is what the remote buyer photographs and imagines. And price against today's closed sales, not your neighbor's 2022 sale. The buyers are there, they are comparing actively, and they will pay a fair price for a home that is ready to move into and work from on day one.

St. Louis's Remote Work Action Plan
  • Buyers: Chase value where supply grew: west county suburbs and city neighborhoods like Tower Grove South and The Grove.
  • Buyers: Ask about the MCC tax credit and MHDC down payment assistance before you shop.
  • Buyers: Negotiate now that inventory is up 15%; the value tier rewards prepared, pre-approved buyers.
  • Sellers: Price to today's comps, fix inspection items upfront, and stage the office and yard.
  • Sellers: Offer a closing cost credit or buydown to stay ahead of lengthening days on market.

04 -- Naples: The Zoombird Shift and the Two-Tier Market

Naples has a new kind of resident, and I love watching how it is changing the market. Local agents call them Zoombirds: remote workers who nest in Southwest Florida and stay through more of the year instead of fleeing the summer heat like the snowbirds of old. They bring coastal salaries, a laptop, and a wholly different relationship with the calendar, and they are quietly blurring the lines of the season that has governed Naples real estate for decades.

Seasonality still matters, though. More than 100,000 seasonal residents pour into Collier County between November and April, and when they arrive, competition intensifies and seller pricing power returns. Right now, in the pre-season window of September and October, prices typically run 10% to 15% below the winter peak. That window is where serious buyers belong, and it closes fast once the holidays arrive.

The market itself is split in two. Single-family homes remain resilient in the roughly $700,000 to $800,000 band, while condos have corrected to a median around $413,000, down 6.5% to 10% year over year. Supply sits near 8 months, days on market run 90 to 100-plus, and roughly two-thirds of sales are cash. The costs are real and rising: homeowners insurance in Collier County averages somewhere between $4,000 and $6,800 a year and climbing, and HOA fees routinely run $500 to $700 a month, up 15% to 20% since 2019 as new reserve-funding and inspection laws bite. None of that is a reason to avoid Naples. All of it is a reason to plan before you buy.

What the Remote Work Shift Means for Naples Buyers

If you can work from anywhere, Naples is one of the few places where that sentence changes your buying power. The Zoombird buyer can use a home twelve months of the year, which means the pre-season window is not a compromise, it is the strategy. For single-family buyers, communities like North Naples, Pelican Bay, and Grey Oaks offer genuine long-term value, and this is the month to negotiate price and terms.

For condo buyers, the correction has created real opportunity, but only with homework. Vet the association financials and the reserve study line by line. A well-funded building with current insurance and no looming special assessment is a legitimate value. A building with thin reserves and deferred maintenance is a risk at any price. Check the internet infrastructure too: if you plan to work from the lanai, make sure the fiber actually reaches the building, and budget insurance honestly on the specific property before you fall in love.

What the Remote Work Shift Means for Naples Sellers

For sellers, the Zoombird wave is good news tucked inside a correction. Price against today's closed sales, not 2024. Condo sellers in particular need to embrace the repricing, then stand out on the financeable details: transparent, healthy association financials, current insurance documentation, and a presentation that says move-in ready, not project-ready. Consider covering the first year of association dues or offering a closing cost credit. In a market where HOA and insurance costs are top of mind, removing that friction can be the difference between a quick contract and months of showings.

And market to the year-round buyer, not just the seasonal one. The remote worker scrolling listings in Chicago in October wants to know the fiber speed, the airport distance, and whether the community is lively off-season. If your home works for a Zoombird, say so, and say it with evidence. That pool of serious, cash-savvy buyers is larger now than it has ever been in Naples, and it is shopping right now.

Naples's Remote Work Action Plan
  • Buyers: Buy now: September and October are the pre-season window before the crowds return.
  • Buyers: Vet HOA financials, reserve studies, insurance quotes, and fiber access on the specific property.
  • Buyers: Budget $4,000 to $6,800+ a year for insurance and $500 to $700 a month for HOA fees before you commit.
  • Sellers: Price against 2026 closed comps and document association financials and current insurance.
  • Sellers: Offer a first-year dues credit or closing help, and market the home to year-round remote buyers.

05 -- Relocation News and the Remote Relocator's Checklist

I moved my own practice from St. Louis to Charlotte in May 2026, so I know exactly how much a remote-capable move changes the planning process. Where the old relocation playbook began with the office address, the new one begins with the extra bedroom, the internet speed, and the airport. Here is how I would approach the decision across my three markets.

Three Markets, Three Kinds of Remote Moves

Charlotte's move is job-driven and hybrid-shaped: corporate arrivals from Citigroup, SoFi, SMBC, and Daimler Truck are coming for careers, and most of them keep one foot in the office and one in a home office. St. Louis's move is value-driven: remote pay stretches further there than almost anywhere else in the country, and the stable aerospace, bioscience, and finance base makes it a magnet for first-time buyers and investors. Naples's move is lifestyle-driven: the Zoombird nests year-round, the retiree winters, and the seasonal resident keeps one foot in the Midwest. All three are legitimate strategies. They just have different math.

The Remote Relocator's Checklist

Test the internet before you test the faucets. Fiber availability and cell coverage vary block by block, and they decide whether your home office actually works. Walk the neighborhood while on a video call if you can, check the provider maps for the exact address, and ask the listing agent directly about the service at the property.

Right-size the commute to your real schedule. A true hybrid worker only needs the office two or three days a week. Map those days to the neighborhood before you let a five-day commute anxiety price you out of the home you actually want.

Choose your village before you choose your house. Charlotte, St. Louis, and Naples are each collections of distinct neighborhoods, and the right one is personal. Spend your early weeks touring communities, not just homes.

Talk to a CPA about the tax side of the move. Florida has no state income tax. North Carolina and Missouri both do. Working remotely in one state while your employer is headquartered in another can shift your net proceeds by thousands of dollars, so plan for it before you commit.

Start 90 to 120 days before your target move date. Every system, school enrollment, vehicle registration, utilities, mortgage underwriting, takes longer than you think. I learned that the hard way in my own move.

Work with a broker licensed in more than one of these states. The purchase contracts in North Carolina, Missouri, and Florida are genuinely different, and North Carolina's due diligence system surprises newcomers the most. I hold active broker credentials in all three states, so when you work with me the broker who knows your departure market also knows your destination market, which protects your timeline at the exact moment it matters most.

The Remote Relocator's Checklist
  • Test the internet on the exact address before making an offer, and verify cell coverage in the neighborhood.
  • Right-size the commute to your actual hybrid schedule, not a hypothetical five-day one.
  • Pick the neighborhood first, then the house: each metro is a collection of villages.
  • Talk to a CPA about state income tax differences between NC, MO, and FL.
  • Start 90 to 120 days out, and work with a broker licensed in both your states.
  • Time the move to the market: balance in Charlotte, value in St. Louis, pre-season deals in Naples.

Not Sure Which Market Fits Your New Routine?

Whether you are buying, selling, or relocating with a remote or hybrid job, let us map out your strategy over a free 30-minute consultation. No pressure, just honest answers and a clear plan for the months ahead.

Book Your Free Consultation

Sources

Market data and forecasts sourced from publicly available reports as of September 2026.

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20 years of expertise. Dual Metro. Same unstoppable results.
-- Tracey De Simon