It’s fascinating, and frankly pretty scary, to consider all the ways in which the coronavirus pandemic is changing our everyday lives. In a very short space of time, people have been forced to adapt to a new, more limited way of life, and this has led to an almost overnight change in consumer habits. Now patterns are starting to emerge that show the shifting priorities of home movers.
What home movers want
A recent survey from Rightmove shows that life under coronavirus has already changed what many people value in a home.
Almost half of renters and over a third of buyers on the move said that lockdown had changed what they were looking for in a home. With lockdown imposing restrictions on both our work lives and leisure time, it’s perhaps no surprise that people are looking for ways to expand their domestic horizons.
The great outdoors
The survey shows that, compared to the same time last year, the top five desired types of property are now exclusively houses, with flats no longer making the cut. Whereas previously a desire for more rooms made a three-bed flat the third most popular choice among buyers, this has now been replaced by the one-bed house.
Consider this alongside a garden being the most sought-after home feature, and it’s possible to see that being cooped up indoors during lockdown has made having direct access to outside space a priority over additional room inside.
Making space work
The other new entries to the top five desired property types were four- and six-bed houses. With far more of us working from home now, it makes sense that 36% of buyers and 26% of renters showed a desire for a better home workspace.
The growing appetite for houses with more bedrooms could be a sign that additional space is now needed for studies and home offices.
Get off my land
Another aspect of coronavirus is the impact it’s had on our retail habits. As well as a drop in high street footfall, the second quarter of 2020 has seen a big increase in online shopping, with Amazon reporting record profits.
This seems to have fed into a increased desire for properties located in the countryside, with 30% of home buyers professing an interest in rural areas. With the need to live close to urban areas becoming less important, we may well see a growing exodus from towns and cities as people seek the perceived health benefits of country living.
Of course, things are still changing very quickly, and it remains to be seen what the near future holds for the housing market. It’s going to be fascinating to see how things unfold in both the short and longer term, and you can be sure we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.
As always, we’re here to help support home movers, so get in touch to find out how we can help make your move easier.