As home prices increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, prospective home buyers increased their Google searches for “affordable homes for sale” significantly from 2019 to 2020 and 2021, according to an analysis by Point2Homes. Searches for “affordable homes for sale” increased 108% from 2019 to 2020 and increased a further 30% from 2020 to 2021.
The analysis from Point2Homes supported the theory that the pandemic generated a K-shaped response, where economic performances of different sectors, industries, and groups within an economy diverge in two paths like the arms of the letter “K.” While searches for affordable homes and “tiny home for sale” increased significantly between 2019 and 2020-2021, the number of monthly searches also increased for “luxury homes” and “penthouse for sale” (both increased 50% in 2020).
For renters, terms such as “rent relief,” “rent assistance,” and “eviction moratorium” increased significantly during the pandemic as a result of pandemic-induced changes in lifestyle and economic hardships. “Rent relief” generated only 90 searches per month in 2019, but was searched 49,500 times per month in 2021. “Eviction moratorium” increased from 40 searches per month in 2019 to 40,500 per month in 2021.
Additionally, with many renters forced to avoid big cities, Point2Homes found searches on Google for “subleasing” increased 22% during the peak months of uncertainty in 2020. Search terms among renters also lent credence to the K-shaped recovery theory, with search terms for “luxury home for rent” and “luxury condo for rent” also increasing by about 50% during 2020 compared with 2019.
Homeowner search terms also showed diverging impacts due to the pandemic, with interest in “mortgage refinancing” and “buying a second home” both increasing by more than 50% during 2020. Point2Homes also found homeowner search terms for several common DIY projects, such as painting walls, painting kitchen cabinets, and home office design increased during the pandemic.
For the study, Point2Homes chose common and frequently used search terms related to real estate in 2020 and 2021 and compared their average number of searches with 2019, splitting keywords into home buyer, renter, and homeowner categories.
