What Are The Most In-Demand Home Features Thanks To COVID-19?

For some of us, the Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives completely, even reconsidering our living situations.

Over the past 18 months, the global pandemic has compelled homeowners to reevaluate how they use (or sell) their space. As we sheltered from the pandemic dangers, homes have had to transform into offices, schools, gyms, and more, so families can attempt to continue to live their lives from the comfort of their own homes.

In response to this, homeowners have been carrying out massive lifestyle changes within their property, from minor spruce ups to complete renovations – to improve the comfortability and productivity whilst being indoors. Research by Santander revealed that Covid-19 and lockdown prompted two in five British homeowners to bring forward their home improvement plans, while three in five homeowners carried out their own renovation project during the lockdown.

Furthermore, lockdowns causing families to be stuck indoors have encouraged a surge in property sales within the last 18 months, but with an increasing demand for specific changing priorities. People haven’t just been moving home because they are bored of their current one, they have in fact been looking for change. From moving out of towns and into a countryside village, upgrading and downgrading their properties, or even looking for a property with more outdoor space, the statistics show the preferences of buyers have shifted.

So what does this mean for you if you’re planning on selling your home? Here at Peter Lane & Partners, we want to provide you with the best advice for selling your home, especially during these uncertain times. We’ve monitored how quickly homes are selling due to the record high of home hunters. According to Rightmove, more than 260,000 new sellers came to market in April and May 2021 alone.

With this in mind, homeowners planning to sell this year will have an edge if they plan to make a few upgrades that suit the new buyers’ changing priorities…

 

Office Space

For those that had to work from home, many came to the realisation that working from their dining room table or living room wasn’t enough to help them live their everyday working experience comfortably.

Buyers have been (and will most likely continue to) look for homes with dedicated offices or workspace where they can have the full set up. This really assisted with kids learning from home, too. In addition to this, there is also a large number of buyers looking for discrete working set ups within their home i.e. a separate structure isolated completely from the main property, for ultimate privacy.

Nonetheless, If you’re looking to sell your home successfully, it doesn’t mean you need to empty your pockets to build a whole new office in your garden. Simply dedicating space for an attractive, convenient work set up during the selling process of your home may help, as it has recently interested more buyers in the last 18 months.

 

Outdoor Space

We’ve all had to make the most of our garden during the lockdowns. It helped us break up the monotony of being stuck indoors, allowing us to continue to keep a hobby and enjoy some fresh air from the safe comfort of our homes.

Pair that with the easing of restrictions this July, we anticipate plenty of gardening and outdoor gatherings will return in the upcoming weeks, all you need is the right outdoor social space for it.

If you’re preparing your home for selling and considering a few changes to your garden beforehand, you should definitely expand the use of your rear garden, as the appearance of outdoor space is more important than ever. Homeowners don’t necessarily need to take on major construction projects to sell their home, however, sprucing up your outdoor space to make it more comfortable and practical for the buyers can completely shift a decision.

In fact, according to housebeautiful.com, spending as little as £400 on your garden can boost the value of your home by £2,000.

The easiest and cheapest way to start improving your garden is by plainly weeding, tidying, and painting your fences. It’s the simplest things that can make the biggest difference. Although for an extra boost, many buyers have taken an interest in things like seating areas, outdoor lighting, and extra space for storage and leisure amenities i.e. a gym or a bar.

 

Kitchen Upgrades

Prior to the pandemic, public health agencies in the UK and USA were increasingly promoting cooking from home because of its connection to better diets, but the lack of time-restricted people’s ability to practice or improve their cooking skills.

However, given that dining out was no longer an option during Covid-19, there was a dramatic shift in food practices to occupy time and develop a new skill, thanks to this extra time indoors.

This caused homeowners to reconsider the set up of their kitchens, as some may have enjoyed the hobby, but not had the right environment to carry it out. Now homebuyers are looking for suitable kitchens that will make cooking, baking, and socialising more enjoyable.

There have been a few kitchen design trends popularised thanks to lockdown, including smart storage solutions, hot water taps, minimalistic countertops, and broken plan layouts.

Now, this is not a checklist for selling your home, these are just the design trends that appear to have made all of the difference during the lockdown. The minimalistic idea could be beneficial for marketing and can help make your property photography look less clustered. You might not necessarily need to completely renovate your kitchen, but as we said, the smallest things can make the biggest difference.

Make that move with Peter Lane & Partners.

If you believe it’s time to make a change, Peter Lane & Partners has a variety of unique properties available around the Cambridgeshire area for you. Our online browsing portal with filter options allows our clients to comfortably peruse properties they are potentially interested in from their computer screen or mobile phone.

Make that move with Peter Lane & Partners. Our team of experienced and knowledge-wealthy estate agents will help you find your new home, with social distancing and safety guidelines in place if preferred.