The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, are impacting on how many of us feel about our homes. With many of us having to adapt the way we live since the first lockdown, most of us, are not happy with the current living situation. 

This is because we are having to adapt our homes to accommodate changes, such as working from home, having children learning from home if they are unable to attend their school, and spending more time than before at home.

The lack of space in which work or study has to take place is the biggest gripe, as family members have to share their workspace. This has opened people’s minds and attitude to open plan living, which has been gaining popularity over the last few years, with many new builds now offering open plan living spaces.

Open plan living offers large open spaces, allowing family members to still work from the same room, but have their own space and not that feeling of everyone being on top of each other or apart in their room. 

Most families have re-evaluated the way they live since the first lockdown and have started to look at what they want from their homes. Features that perhaps were once not crucial have now become a priority. These include a home office, a garden with furniture for those sunnier days and open plan living arrangements with natural light.

For those who have an open plan arrangement in their homes, they are finding a shift in the way they use this space. Once, used as a space to relax with their family during their downtime, to now being used as an all-purpose room, from working/studying, to eating and relaxing. 

The first lockdown has made many of us realise what we want from our homes, and with us being in the middle of the second lockdown, this has reaffirmed what we really want from our homes.

For those who are not in a position to move home, they have started to look at ways they can improve their home in order to accommodate new living spaces. Multi-purpose spaces are being created, allowing people to make the most of their rooms.

For example, workspaces are being introduced in the living room, in some cases, children who once had their own room, have had to share a room with their sibling so that the other room could be converted into a home office. Adaptation has had to take place for many of us, and for those who are able to move homes, a stir in the property market has taken place. 

With more homeowners looking to move home and with limited available stock, property prices are holding up well, with most areas seeing an increase in property prices. In turn, this is making it difficult for first-time buyers to move into a home, as the deposit they initially saved may now not be enough. With tighter lending criteria and fewer mortgage products available, this has undoubtedly increased the difficulty for first-time buyers, who once dominated sales figures prior to the first lockdown.

However, people are looking at the upside of spending more time at home. Not having to commute to work and back has given many people more time in their days. For those with busy meeting schedules, networking events and needing to travel to different cities for work, they are able to spend more time with their families, especially if younger children are in the picture, as most meetings are now taking place online. 

The scope of what people are after in their homes has certainly changed. Whether you are looking to move into a new home, develop or decorate your existing home, one thing is for sure, this pandemic has given many of us a different view in the way we want to live in our own homes. 

If you are looking to buy or sell your home, please contact one of our property experts by calling us on 0116 266 9977.

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