The pandemic. Shutdown. Quarantine. Stay-at-home orders. Work-from-home setups. Whichever way you look at it, the last 10 months have forever etched themselves in our lives. Who could ever forget being imprisoned in their own homes because there’s a health scare outdoors that nobody understands? Who will ever forget that they were forced to stay at home while the rest of the world grapples with a pandemic of this magnitude? Whether it’s 10 or 20 or 50 years from now, we will remember 2020 like it happened yesterday.
But some things don’t change. Even amid this pandemic, people are still looking for opportunities to buy real estate. In fact, they are more concerned now than ever before about where they will settle in with their families. It’s about time, too, that people start considering the suburban lifestyle over cityscapes.
According to real estate agencies, a lot of people started moving away from the city and to suburban areas during the height of the pandemic. As people begin working from home, they also realized that staying in the city is useless. Why pay for a $4,000 apartment in New York while working from home when you can buy a big house for that same amount in the suburbs? People did not just change their preferences in terms of where to live. They are also looking for new features that wouldn’t have been that important a year ago.
Indoor Air Quality
People have come to realize that indoor air quality is important when choosing a home. That’s why homes with large windows are the preferred real estate today. It’s not just that, too. People are more deliberate about the results of the home inspection report. Sure, they want to know that the house is structurally sound, but they’re also looking for signs that the home is free from chemicals, toxins, and other contaminants.
That’s why, if you have any plans of selling your home, make sure to call an exterminator to solve any pest problems before putting your house on the market. Homebuyers are looking for a property that they can move into immediately. The presence of pests, mold, radon, asbestos, rodents, and other contaminants will make it harder to sell your home.
Single-family Home
People are moving away from condominiums and townhouses. They want a single detached family home. They want to be as far away from their neighbors as possible. Single-family homes are more private. They also offer more security in terms of not having to share a hallway with your neighbors. They don’t have to share the pool or the garden with the rest of the unit owners in a condominium building.
Backyard
Homebuyers used to love the convenience of living in condominiums. After all, who wants to take care of a leaky roof or problematic plumbing? Sure, the low-maintenance lifestyle is still attractive, but not as much as before. Homeowners want a backyard. They want to spend time outdoors without feeling the need to drown themselves in sanitizer afterward. They can tend to their gardens and do home projects in their yards.
Home Office
Experts predict that work-from-home setups are going to be the future of the corporate world. With businesses allowing their employees to work flexibly from any location they want, people want their homes to have an extra room that they can turn into a home office. Preferably, this home office should face the garden, so they don’t feel to cooped up inside while they work on their projects.
Swimming Pools
Many people are still uncomfortable with the thought of public pools. After all, health experts haven’t made strides in their research about contracting the coronavirus by sharing a pool. That’s why homebuyers are looking to buy a real estate property that has a pool or at least, has the space for it. This is especially important for families with children. They want their kids to have as normal as a life as possible.
Entertainment Spaces
During the height of the outbreak, people were forbidden to dine outdoors. Although they can now meet their friends over a cup of coffee, some are still apprehensive. Homebuyers want properties with enough space for entertainment. This may be a backyard kitchen, patio, garden, or outdoor fireplace. Outdoor gatherings are better than indoor events, health experts said, which is why homebuyers prefer real estate with ample space for entertainment.
The coronavirus pandemic changed the landscape of the real estate industry, possibly forever. As more people move to the suburbs, the industry itself faces the challenge of answering the new demands and trends. It is interesting to see in the next years if homebuyer preferences will switch back to a low-maintenance city lifestyle.
