Americans Willing to Swap Remote Work for Employer-Backed Housing Benefits, Survey Finds

The rapid shift to remote work fueled by the pandemic is still prevalent today, and employees are refusing to return to offices full time. However, new reports suggest that Americans are willing to quit working from home in exchange for housing benefits. Additionally, 69% said they would be willing to switch jobs if there were employer-backed housing benefits. The revelations come at a time when companies are implementing their return-to-office mandates, which is not sitting well with the employees. Now, industry giants like Oracle and Tesla are leveraging the housing benefits to enhance their talent acquisition. 

The JW Surety Bonds survey mentions that around 43% said they were willing to take less vacation time in exchange for help with housing costs, and 30% said they would prefer housing assistance over a pay raise. A creative member at the JW Surety Bonds, Ricardo Rodriguez says that housing assistance will become a major force in the job market in the coming years. 

"As housing costs soar, these findings indicate a trend of employer-based housing benefits gaining momentum," Rodriguez told Business Insider. "A strong interest in employer-based housing benefits could potentially redefine employee expectations of traditional compensation packages in the next 5-10 years."

A report by the Urban Institute provides insight into why employers should care about the fact that their employees are failing to afford to live in the larger metro cities. It shows how the lack of affordable housing can hold back cities and businesses. Other repercussions include quality employees refusing to move into the region, losing productivity time by commuting more than 30 minutes a day, and more. 

Moreover, in the JW Surety Bonds survey, almost 25% of employers said that they are considering adding employee housing benefits in 2024 with an average assistance of $6,200 per employee. The survey also found that by helping employees with housing, employers will also impact their job satisfaction positively, with 77% of employees reporting high satisfaction levels. 

"It's crucial for companies to recognize that offering housing assistance is becoming a competitive necessity to attract and retain talent, as well as to maximize their employees' potential," Rodriguez said.

With housing prices climbing by the day, many hopeful buyers as well as sellers can't help but feel distressed. The median sale price for a home in the US back in December 2023 was $382,600. However, the chief financial analyst Greg McBride of Bankrate, said "Mortgage rates should lower throughout the year as inflation pressures ease and the Fed begins to cut short-term interest rates."

While the home prices refused to budge last year, experts say that 2024 may bring positive changes to the housing market. "The housing market is off to a good start this year, as consumers benefit from falling mortgage rates," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, via Bankrate. 

"Housing sales are expected to increase a bit from this year,” agrees Chen Zhao, economics head at Redfin. "However,” she says, "we are not expecting sales to increase dramatically, as rates are likely to remain above 6 percent." Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic says "Declines in mortgage rates will drive more sellers to trade their existing home and help add much-needed inventory to the market, leading to more transactions."