Home sweet home

Lockdowns, school closures, and teleworking forced most people to spend much more time at home.

Housing preferences have changed as a result: many people want more space, notably to accommodate more teleworking, even if this implies living further away.

A recent OECD study found that more and more homes are being bought beyond the 10km radius in large metropolitan areas, while purchases are slowing down in city centres.

The data also illustrate that prices have disproportionally increased in suburbs while price growth was contained or even negative in city centres.

Decent inner city housing remains overwhelming unaffordable for low-income households, who are now facing price increases in the peripheries. This could force low-income households even further out from the city and potentially from their employment.

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