Americans who were already anxious over the election are shifting into panic mode as the vote count, and partisan anger about it, potentially stretch into days.
In one measure of that anxiety, searches for homes with bunkers and other hideouts have spiked 546%.
The real estate site ISoldMyHouse.com told Secrets that the election jumped searches for bunkers 300%, but that nearly doubled on Election Day.
“In the last 24 hours, searches for houses with ‘emergency spaces’ such as bunkers, panic rooms, and hidden fortified rooms have increased 546%, as America waits for all votes to be counted, and the election result is confirmed,” said the site.
That parallels the massive sales of guns and ammunition leading up to the election as people feared violence.
Now that the vote count looks to go on for a few more days, there are growing fears of violent outcome in cities.
As with the growth in gun sales, the desire for homes with safe rooms started at the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, increased during the Black Lives Matter protests, and surged as the election neared.
“From our data, it seems what people really want are fortified basements, panic rooms, or bunkers within the grounds of their house. It’s not just private homes being sought after to keep people safe either. Companies are opening survival camps on election day,” said Kris Lippi, the owner of ISoldMyHouse.com.
There are some firms that build bunkers to install in or around homes, and there are also several prepper camps around the nation where people pay a fee to escape to.
Most of the states with the most searches for bunkers are battlegrounds in the election, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, California, Ohio, Texas, Idaho, Washington, and Minnesota.
His group found that the election was a key driver in the searches.
“When asked why a home with a bunker was important to them now, almost half (47%) cited civil unrest, violent protests, outrage, and uncertainty of the upcoming election as the main reason behind the search. Of those that said election fears drove their choice, almost three quarters (70%) said they were worried about fallout from a second Trump term, while the remaining 30% were worried about what a Biden win would look like,” said the group.
