The following post is from the guest writer, Victoria Standridge. Victoria writes for Broadband Search to help others search their areas for the best Internet Services. Photo: Canva
They say home is where the heart is, and that sentiment remains true. The home has always been the center of family life and relaxation after a long day at work. Now, with the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic, our conception of how we use our homes has shifted. The home zone now encompasses everything from our professional lives to our sources of entertainment.
Where home buyers previously preferred fancy neighborhoods close a short distance from the big city or homes with luxurious decorations, the pandemic has changed all that. People’s priorities now reflect their daily activities. People want homes with enough space that they can do all of their activities within that space- without stepping on each other’s toes.
Let’s take a look at five ways the pandemic has changed what people look for in a home now.
1. Working from Home
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of changes in the way we live our lives. One of the major side effects has been the huge transition from in-person workplaces to remote work platforms.
Since more employees are now working from home, home buyers are looking to make sure that their prospective new home fulfills their remote work requirements. Today’s home must have a high-speed internet connection and, ideally, an entirely separate office space. With children now attending school remotely, the internet becomes an essential part of every family’s daily life. And parents working from home will want a separate, designated workspace where they are not distracted by their kids’ online lessons, or barking dogs, or the allure of the TV.
Separate office space is a top priority now. Rooms that are located as far away from the rest of the house as possible offer the ideal canvas to fill with ergonomic office furniture and create a clean, focused environment. If there is a balcony attached, that is even better; many people prefer to pace back and forth while placing long-distance work calls.
2. Outdoor Spaces, Indoors
Since many public spaces have been closed to visitors, homeowners cooped up in their houses want to make sure that they have access to plenty of comfortable outdoor spaces. Home design trends over the last year have begun to shift towards a greater interplay between indoor and outdoor spaces, with more homes featuring indoor gardening spaces for herbs and succulents.
People now place a higher premium on outdoor /indoor living spaces as well. Outdoor showers, lounge areas with outdoor sofas or daybeds, and abundant outdoor lighting solutions create an integrated atmosphere that invites people to spend more time outdoors at home. With lockdowns and pandemic surges ongoing across the country, access to private personal outdoor spaces is extra enticing for new homeowners.
3. Home Gym and Entertainment Spaces
Prospective homeowners envisioning how they will inhibit their future home will want to make sure there is ample space for all of their free time activities as well as work from home office space.
Home gyms are the current substitute for working out at the actual gym. The home space requirements for this may vary from an entire dedicated workout room to a separate area that fits one or two fitness machines or a yoga mat on the floor. Online exercise classes, remote individual fitness training, and video-chat workouts give people more options for how to stay fit at home. But regardless of how much space each individual requires, the demand for home exercise space is an important component of most people’s home searches today.
In addition to working out from home, people are relying on their homes to provide a bevy of entertainment options. Some new features have become more attractive to potential homebuyers, such as built-in home cinemas, or cozy reading nooks. Dedicated spaces for home entertainment are a strong draw for families as well, whose children will need to be kept entertained throughout the day.
4. Covid-Safe Features
As we are constantly confronted with new statistics, the coronavirus pandemic continually brings issues of health and cleanliness to the forefront of most people’s minds. The desire for clean and sterile atmospheres is also reflected in people’s ideal home amenities. Homes with highly effective air purification systems can help eliminate toxins and ease homeowner’s concerns about health and safety.
Homes with bathrooms closer to the front entrance of the house allow residents quicker access to hand-washing areas, making for easier sanitization after excursions to the grocery store or the bank.
For socially distanced socializing, wide front porches or patios can allow homeowners to entertain guests from a safe distance, without walking them through the house to the backyard. And bathrooms with contactless options, like self-flushing toilets and automated faucets, reduce the risk of covid transmission in the home, allowing homeowners to feel greater security indoors.
5. Smart Tech Ready
Combining the increased reliance on the internet, the need for more diverse home entertainment systems and the importance of contactless surfaces, today’s home buyers want to know that their homes are ready for smart technology additions.
Features like contactless doorbells allow visitors to deliver food or drop off packages with minimal risk. Smart home security systems enable homeowners to view their property remotely, so they can witness from afar if there is suspicious activity happening while they are out. And smart-tech-enabled home entertainment features can make watching movies or playing video games at home a more seamless and enjoyable experience, with immersive features.
Plus, smart-tech-enabled speakers with Google Assistant or Amazon Echo can allow residents to order supplies with a simple voice command, so they don’t have to worry about running out of cleaning supplies or popular kitchen ingredients.
The Ideal Home of Today and Tomorrow
Although the pandemic is a temporary setback, some of the changes in people’s search for the ideal home are here to stay. Employees have reported higher satisfaction rates with working from home formats, and smart tech upgrades will continue to improve at-home experiences. Healthy indoor/outdoor areas will allow people to spread out in their own spaces, and homeowners will likely continue to place a premium on health, cleanliness, and safety as they search for a home.
Victoria Standridge writes for Broadband Search to help others search their areas for the best Internet Services. For More info contact Victoria at [email protected]
