New Yorkers are fueling a boom in home sales and rental activity in other parts of the state after the COVID-19 pandemic left them re-thinking the Big Apple's appeal and as many professionals started working remotely. 

More than 400,000 of Manhattan's wealthiest residents fled in March to take shelter in their vacation homes or elsewhere as the city became the epicenter of the pandemic. 

Many young working professionals also made the decision to return to their hometowns amid fears the city won't bounce back to its former glory, with more than a third of small businesses facing permanent closure and Broadway staying dark until at least January next year.

Real estate brokers and agents say this has fueled a red-hot market in the Hamptons and in picturesque towns upstate, with many house hunters wanting to escape to the suburbs. 

It also comes amid a slowdown in coronavirus cases in New York, which was once the worst-hit state in America, with more than 219,000 total cases and 18,803 deaths as of Wednesday. 

According to a July Elliman Report, housing prices in the Hamptons soared for the second quarter due to a high demand from city dwellers.