The pandemic and living life in lockdown have completely changed the way in which people live their lives and, for many, it has changed their priorities. It is clear that it will not be a case of business as usual once restrictions are fully lifted and many people will be starting a completely new chapter in their lives that would have been hard to imagine before COVID.
Many people have enjoyed not having to commute to and from work each day and enjoying the free time and flexibility that WFH can bring and so much so that some are even considering quitting if their company plans on bringing them back into the office. The fact of spending more time at home has made some people realize that they have now different needs and many of them started to plan to move house.
People On the Move
One of the major knock-on effects of people working remotely is that it has led many to re-think where they want to live as they may no longer need to be within traveling distance of work. This is seeing many people start to look outside of the major cities and buy in the countryside. In fact, data shows that people are moving out of big cities during the coronavirus with the country’s most populous areas like Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, and San Francisco making to the top of the list of big cities that experienced the highest net losses. Across the pond, Cornwall has overtaken London as the most searched for location on Rightmove. People may be looking to buy bigger properties in cheaper areas so that they can have space for a home office and generally have more space to enjoy life.
Home Renovations
Of course, not everyone can or wants to pack up and move to the countryside. Another major trend that has emerged has been home renovations and home improvement projects.
These have risen in popularity both because home renovations can give people a project to work on when there have been so many restrictions in place, plus it allows them to make improvements to their living space.
Kitchen Improvements Proving Popular
Home has never been as important as it is in today’s day and age as this is now a place where people work, relax, socialize and even exercise. There are all kinds of different projects that people have been taking on during COVID-19 with kitchen improvements being hugely popular and a great way to improve the living space (and property value).
This is understandable with people now often eating all 3 main meals of the day at home as well as entertaining guests (many believe that people will continue to socialise at home when all restrictions are lifted).
It is incredible how much of life has changed in a short period of time and how many people’s priorities have changed. How people view the home has completely changed and many are now looking to either move home and even the area that they live or spend time improving their current home to make it a better place to work, socialize, relax and exercise.
