Life has a funny way of showing us what’s important, and the coronavirus pandemic and recent research has shown that homebuyers’ priorities have certainly shifted. Your home will have been a crucial factor in determining your experience of this crisis; it’s not only been your home, but possibly your place of work, and your playground. You may have fallen completely in love with your home all over again and decided to give it a makeover whilst you’ve been in confined. Or its flaws may have grown so big in your eyes that they can no longer be ignored and you are screaming inside to find a new home. But just how has coronavirus changed homebuyers’ priorities?
Change in the top 5
According to Rightmove, the top five types of property searched for by buyers has changed over the last few months, with houses and bungalows becoming the most sought after. As early as January, two and three-bedroom flats were included in this list but, when analysed in May, this had changed. The top five most searched for property types has now shifted, with flats being replaced by four and six-bedroom houses. At Deakin-White we anticipated that a lack of outdoor space could be turn off for buyers, after gardens have become a sanctuary for many over the last few months.
Space has always been something that most buyers crave, especially if they have a growing family, so it’s no surprise that searches for homes with gardens had increased by 42% in May from last years’ figures. We expect the weather has also played a part in increasing our desire for a garden; whether you are looking for a space that is maintenance-free or a landscaped paradise, being able to enjoy the sunshine and relax has been a blessing for our mental wellbeing.
The new workplace
Not everyone has been able to work from home, but for those who have, many are wishing to make this more permanent, whether it’s a couple of days a week or full-time. We have already seen the requests for space for a home office increase dramatically, and we expect this to continue to rise in the coming months. Employers have found that people have been more productive working from home, even with the pressures of home schooling and self-isolation. As such, businesses are rethinking how they operate in the long run, Twitter recently announced that should an employee wish to continue working from home, they can do so forever!
To meet this most essential need, buyers will be looking for homes that have superfast broadband and strong mobile signal to ensure communications can continue without issue. Those buyers wanting a home with a home office will be seeking a property with a designated space, whether this is a spare room or a purpose-built or transformed garden building. Offices in the garden are highly desirable as they give distinct separation from work and home life; not only that, being able to look out over the garden can make you more productive.
If you’re looking to sell your home, it’s worth seeing where you can create a private workspace before placing it on the market. Maybe you have a box room that could be easily presented as a tranquil place to work, or you could already have an office but a quick lick of paint might transform it into the kind of home office a buyer cannot resist.
Yet to come
At Deakin-White we have been frantically busy with people looking to move. You can be assured that the buyers out there are serious, so it’s in your interests to do everything you can to attract to today’s buyers, from enhancing your outside space to offering them a place to work. If you would like advice on how you could increase the appeal of your home before you place it on the market, please contact a member of our team on 01582 343 548 for Dunstable & Houghton Regis or 01727 620 131 for St Albans & Hatfield.
