For some of us the home office may be the corner of a garage, for others an oak-paneled haven complete with multiple phone lines and ISDN delivery. The Wirthlin Worldwide researchers have found that home offices are found in an astonishing one-third of U.S. homes.

In a study that came out in January, 1,627 consumers were interviewed nationwide with 31% reporting that they have an office in their homes. Significantly, that is a sharp increase from the previous six months, when the percentage was closer to one-fourth (24%).

In there Home Office Trends research study, Wirthlin Worldwide tracked developments affecting home offices, with special emphasis on furnishings and equipment. The demographics of home offices pointed to the highest probability of home office users as being married, middle-aged, educated and earning an income of $50,000 or more a year.

"Education and income are the best predictors of who is likely to have a home office," says Michael Tourangeau, a home office specialist with Wirthlin Worldwide. "As the level of both increase, so does the prevalence of home offices."

Here's how the study breaks down:

Education. College graduates (46%) are nearly twice as likely as high school graduates (25%) to have a home office. For people with some post-graduate training, the odds jump to almost six in 10 (58%).

Income. Nearly seven in 10 people (69%) with household incomes greater than $80,000 have a home office, compared with just 14% of those with incomes below $25,000. (The other categories: $25,000-$50,000--32%; and $50,000-$80,000--54%).

Marital status and age. Home offices are more commonly found in married households (37%) than in those headed by singles (28%) or divorced people (28%). When it comes to age, respondents between 35 and 54 lead the way (38% have home offices), slightly outpacing those under 35 (32%), but far ahead of those older than 55 (22%).

Despite all the recent publicity on telecommuting and home-based businesses, the study also showed that the home offices are more used for managing personal business such as household accounts and children's homework than in contributing to the income stream.

Almost half of the respondents (47%) indicate their home office is used primarily to conduct personal business like paying bills, while another 12% of home offices are used primarily by kids doing homework.

Barely more than one-third of home offices are used primarily for business purposes, whether to support a home-based business (16%), to handle after-hours work brought home from a conventional office (12%), or to telecommute (6%).

"A common perception holds that telecommuting is widespread within-if not the primary rationale for-home offices," Tourangeau says. "But apparently the reality is that it has yet to penetrate the business culture to any significant degree."

The ongoing Home Office Trends survey is conducted periodically to track changes over time. Although the survey results are thought to be of most interest to furniture and equipment manufacturers, furniture retailers, and office supply stores, builders and real estate professionals can also gain from this knowledge of the home office market.

Founded in 1969, Wirthlin Worldwide is an opinion research and strategic consulting firm that has conducted research for many of America's largest corporations, including over half of the Fortune 100 companies. The company is based in McLean, Va., and has offices in New York; Chicago; Irvine,Calif.; Salt Lake City; Grand Rapids, Mich.; London; Hong Kong; and Canberra, Australia.

For subscription information or further details about the study, contact Michael Tourangeau at (616) 954-0200.

Published: May 21, 1998

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.