The real estate market has certainly seen some diverse transitions in the past 15+ years or so. For example, at the turn of the century we started to see larger homes become popular. As a matter of fact, the term “McMansions” was coined in the 1980’s but gained in popularity again in the early 2000’s. Soon thereafter we started to see a push towards smaller, more energy-efficient homes. This in large part was a response to reducing carbon footprints. Then the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the globe!
The “Work from Home” Effect
Now the whole world has changed. Ask Americans about their current work and living environments and you will probably hear a common response. WE NEED MORE SPACE!!!
A new survey conducted by real estate blog Commercial Café asked 4,384 individuals who have been working from home about their living situations, their professional setup at home, their must-haves for an in-house office and what (if any) plans they had for a work area within their living space going forward.
Among the findings, nearly 60% of respondents said they were planning to either rent a larger apartment or buy a home that could incorporate a home office. The majority of the survey respondents (65%) weren’t happy with their existing home offices, most of which were hastily setup when companies transitioned to work from home during the early stages of the pandemic. Now that many of those companies have extended their plans through the new year or indefinitely, a dedicated home office has become a priority.
Interestingly, nearly half of remote workers surveyed are currently working in makeshift offices in their kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms or elsewhere. Even after working from home for six months, 31% said they still don’t have a proper desk or chair.
The Future
While the novel COVID-19 virus will not go away any time soon, advancements in therapeutics and vaccines may greatly advance our ability to return to a “normal” way of life. With this said, many organizations have already announced that they are either fully adopting the remote working environment or incorporating a hybrid version of it moving forward.
In real estate, we suspect that the need for additional space for a home office will remain. As mentioned in some of our previous articles, home offices and home gyms are among the most appealing features of homes nowadays. Therefore, the future of real estate will be a compromise of additional space while also incorporating energy-efficient features. If you are looking to buy a home in this market, it may not be a bad idea to find a property with an extra bedroom. At the very least, it will help with the resale value!
