“We are currently experiencing the strongest housing market I have seen in my 30 years at Toll Brothers, and we continue to increase prices in nearly all of our communities.” --Douglas Yearley, CEO of Toll Brothers
The pandemic and all of its associated restrictions have produced an unlikely boom in housing. But maybe we should have expected it -- with the surge in online and remote work, and with corporations moving quickly to expand digital infrastructure, many Americans can now work from anywhere. In many cases, that has meant migrating out of major U.S. cities and relocating into more rural areas, where people can afford homes with office space.
According to Toll Brothers last earnings report, the number of contracts for new homes increased 68% to 3,407 units from last year, and the contract value rose 63% to $2.74 billion. The momentum is poised to continue: Toll’s home-building deliveries rose 10% from a year ago to 2,940, and the company expects around 1,675 home deliveries in the first quarter with an average price between $780,000 and $800,000.
With the pandemic still raging and many companies extending work-remote capabilities, the migration out of cities and into rural areas with homes may just be getting started. Companies like Toll Brothers, Pulte Homes, and KB Homes may stand to benefit.