The St. Cloud real estate lexicon rarely expands to include new terms—but as in so many other areas, exceptions were made during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of them was the recognition of “zoom towns,” a term coined to designate smaller towns and rural areas that experienced an influx of remote workers and residents. St. Cloud needn’t be considered a zoom town to market a possible “zoom room.” That’s a feature that remains appealing to many due to fallout from the pandemic—­­developments that include:

·         The rise of remote work. Powerful home computers and lightning-fast web speeds had already made remote work possible, but it took the pandemic-related health mandates to change ingrained workplace practices—by both workers and their employers. Teleconferencing via the Zoom platform gave the professional world a new definition of “zooming.”

·         The need for more space. Home offices required rethinking residential space allocations­­ at the same time that the extra hours spent at home made adding space increasingly desirable.

·         Lowered cost-of-living expenses. The economic advantage of zoom town living became evident—including escape from commuting expenses and urban prices.

·         Lifestyle changes. In addition to the daily routine modifications brought about by the pandemic (some of them less than desirable), many zoom towns provided access to nature, outdoor recreation, good schools, and a strengthened sense of community.

The changes that the advent of zoom towns are having will take a while to be fully absorbed in the culture at large­, although it’s a cinch that some of their effects will be felt throughout the nation’s residential real estate landscape. If your future plans are taking shape now, I hope you will give me a call to talk over how you can take advantage of the changes in the St. Cloud real estate market!

Providing a superior level of informed, professional real estate services to buyers and sellers throughout Central Minnesota. We have agents specializing in residential, commercial, multifamily, new construction, existing, investment properties, foreclosures/REO, and short sales with offices located in:

Multiple Office Locations To Serve YOU!

Saint Cloud 320-259-4554

Princeton 320-983-3555

Sartell 320-259-4554

Little Falls 320-259-4554

Minneapolis 763-565-2000

Hutchinson 320-455-9127

Litchfield 320-298-1140

Premier Real Estate specializes in MANY areas around Central MN including Saint Cloud, Waite Park, Rice, Royalton, Sartell, Royalton, Little Falls, Cold Spring, Saint Joseph, Elk River, Monticello, Ramsey, Saint Michael, Andover, Ham Lake, Anoka, Champlin, Buffalo, Glencoe, Brownton, Silver Lake, Kandiyohi, Dassel, Minneapolis, Maple Grove, Saint Louis Park, Saint Paul, Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Brooklyn Center, Brainerd, Nisswa, Aitkin, Albany, Coon Rapids, Sauk Rapids and more!