How is Covid-19 going to change the housing preferences?

Purchase and consumption behaviors have been undoubtedly changed and the market is being challenged with new preferences and needs.

The urge for a change in the housing sector

The recent pandemic that affected the globe and shook every possible sector, has definitely changed our paradigm on every aspect of life. Purchase and consumption behaviors have been undoubtedly changed and the market is being challenged with new preferences and needs. Housing sector hasn’t been an exemption either, in contrary, it has been forced to adapt very quickly to the new market prices, the digital workplace and changes in priorities and habits.

Remote areas gained value

The appearance of a social distancing and lockdowns made those living in a high-rise building appreciate more remote areas adapted to a long-term isolation. The modern architecture of high-rise buildings has never considered that the time spent in the apartment will exceed the time spent outside, therefore it has kept the trend of designing buildings that can keep as many people at one place. During the pandemic, the fact that a contact has to be reduced as much as possible, touching the door handles and elevator buttons has become one of the ubiquitous anxiety sources. For many years, house has been a shelter that provides safety but today it presents also a place for isolation, therefore an increased interest in remote areas can be noticed. The trend is being expected to increase due to the uncertainty and possible future pandemic occurrences.

Houses suitable for remote – working

During the isolation many companies have been forced to implement remote – working and the workers had to adapt to the fact that their houses have become their offices as well. Many guess that even after the pandemic, the remote working will still remain present in many companies. The new houses will have to be suitable for the working environment, considering a complete spacious room organized as an office. The new preferences when considering buying or renting a home will be inclusion of an office room suitable for comfortable remote working.

Importance of hygiene and cleanliness

The most sensitive to viruses are the elderly, those of poorer health, but also those with respiratory problems, and there are many of them. The recent occurrences have made us think more about the importance of home hygiene and cleanliness. Taking this into an account, we can expect construction companies to provide health certificates, use anti-microbial materials and build homes with air purifiers. The air purifiers will provide clean air with reduced concentration of harmful indoor pollutants and allergens and thereby reduce the adverse effects of it.

The increase of Urban Farming

The Covid – 19 pandemic made us all understand the importance of how crucial urban farming and self - reliance is. During the lockdown people have used the building roofs for a walk, their balconies for grasping a fresh air but we can expect these spaces to be used even for urban farming. It has been a phenomena in many developed countries for years and its importance has been seen during the recent events. For those who still prefer living in urban city areas, spaces such as roof, terrace and balcony might become of huge importance which will force the construction companies to consider putting more accent on these features.

The era of digitalization

Advanced technological solutions have been part of housing sector for many years and features such as smart home technology, VR and drone are being used as sophisticated new era findings. The post Covid – 19 era will require solutions that do not require contact, therefore we can expect to see solutions such as voice command elevators and door and facial screening. Houses that have these systems incorporated will certainly be more attractive at the market, due to the overwhelming amount of information considering the virus being spread by contact.

The sentiment of the importance of anticipation and adaptation of changes has been mostly shared by companies operating in housing sector. The sector is definitely looking forward to implementation of new solutions and anticipation of consumption behaviors in order to keep pace with the market needs and challenges.