Remote workers buying Jacksonville-area real estate

St. Johns, FL — Realtors in the Jacksonville area are seeing major migration from one group in particular -- remote workers.

Mitchel Cole moved to St. Augustine when he realized he could do his work away from larger cities with high-priced homes.

“Twenty years ago, that never would’ve been possible,” he said.

Mark Rosener, a local realtor, said he had a client in New Hampshire whose husband’s job went totally remote.

[RELATED: 10 Companies Shifting to Long-Term Remote Work]

He said, “They were in a snowstorm in New Hampshire and thought, ‘why am I here in New Hampshire when I could be back in Florida?’”

A Gallup poll published in October says 91% of remote workers want to stay remote and 54% say they want at least some type of hybrid option.

Three in 10 employees say they’ll find other work if hybrid or remote work isn’t an option.

Rosener said, “Businesses realize that their employees working from home are just as efficient and happier. And so without that commute and all of that stress, the trend still is it worked really well why change it?”

[RELATED: Report: Top 30 Companies for Work-From-Home Jobs]

Realtors say housing in Florida is booming, specifically in areas like St. Johns County, which has the top public school district in the state.

The average home in St. Johns County stays on the market for just 17 days, compared to 25 days a year ago. And six weeks the year before that.

At least 25% of offers are cash, so while workers continue to accept more remote work, Floridians should prepare for growing pains.

“It’s a good thing and a bad thing. But I think ultimately there’s gonna be bumps in the road but I think we’ll adjust.”

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