Is COVID-19 changing what buyers want in a home?

According to a recent Zillow survey, COVID-19 is changing home buyer preferences. Here are some interesting take aways from this study:

- 7% of Americans had option to work from home prior to COVID-19.

- 56% of employed Americans have had the opportunity to work from home since COVID-19.

- 75% of those who have had the opportunity to work from home, would like to continue doing so, at least half the time.

- 66% of this same group would consider moving if they could continue to work from home.

- 29-31% of this group would consider moving for a dedicated office space (31%), for a larger home (30%), or for more rooms (29%).

- 46% of Americans have a spare bedroom (about 10% less in dense metro areas).

- 24% of Americans have thought about moving due to COVID-19 restrictions.

- 18% more views of homes for sale this year at this time compared to 2019.

What does all this mean for the local housing market? In the short run, it means housing demand should remain strong, but should stabilize over time. It also means more home buyers will be looking for homes with offices. In most cases an extra bedroom will suffice. In Utah, the trend in new homes has moved from 3 to 4 bedrooms. There has also been a trend toward flex rooms. The flex room is often found at the front of the home where formal living rooms used to be. These flex rooms are meant to be rooms that change with the changing needs of the family. They can be used as bedrooms, offices, living rooms, etc.

We may see a trend where living rooms are converted to flex rooms in older homes with formal living rooms and separate family rooms. We are already seeing that to some extent. When we built our home, it originally had a small living/sitting room. We have since added doors to that room and have converted it to my office. COVID-19 is accelerating a trend that is already taking place. Due to affordability issues, these changes will not be drastic or rapid, but will be gradual tweaks to the homes we are living in, purchasing and building.

- Jeff Jorgensen

Sources:

https://www.zillow.com/research/coronavirus-remote-work-suburbs-27046/

Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash