Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Says Urban Homes Prices May Decline

City living provides easy access to restaurants, museums, and theater, but with many of those perks now locked tight behind closed doors, benefits for city living are dwindling. Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller told CNBC that urban home prices could decline, and suburban housing could be a better investment for urban residents. Though Shiller acknowledges it may be too soon to determine if cities will see a mass migration, as history shows cities have survived numerous societal and technological transformations.

The coronavirus pandemic could cause a decline in urban housing prices if employees continue to work from home and forgo city life, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller.

“I think there’s a risk that home prices in urban areas may decline,” Shiller said in a CNBC interview.

So far, urban areas have proven to be resilient to price declines during the pandemic. Prices for existing homes across 19 big cities in the U.S. rose 4% in April from a year earlier, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

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