Since COVID gripped the world in late 2019, many things have changed in our respective worlds. From how we interact with others, how we shop, and how we order food and groceries, everything has changed–some for better, and some for worse. But one thing that has changed is how people are looking at their home purchases.
With COVID causing lockdowns in many parts of the country for months, plenty of American homebuyers have either seen the benefits of doing more from home or have had entire life changes resulting in a move. That begs the question: What’s making people move now? The answers aren’t simple nor are they universal across the geographic or demographic spectrums, but there are some things that have inherently changed to cause people to move or restructure (no pun intended) their current homes.
Job Changes
For many in the service industry, COVID was one of the worst things that could have happened. Service employees found that, with lockdowns in full force, their ability to work was either limited, eliminated, or paused indefinitely. For others who were more immune to the pandemic’s impacts, job changes reprioritized the necessity to have space to work from home.
On the one hand, migration from more restrictive parts of the country to less restrictive parts is a cause for moving; however, for many others, the simple work-from-home lifestyle became not only a temporary luxury but may very well have become a permanent fixture. More businesses are realizing that the necessity of the traditional office is less than it was during the pandemic and many companies have re-shaped their thinking.
For homeowners, this means accomodating the new norm and either moving into a home with a home office or remodeling to retrofit an office into an existing home.
The Fitness Lockdown
One of the hardest-hit industries, besides restaurants and services, were those of fitness facilities and gyms. Fitness facilities were initially thought to be notorious spreading locations for COVID and many were forced to shut down indefinitely. It wasn’t only the facilities themselves that suffered but their members did as well.
From that perspective, homeowners looking to move may very well be doing so for fitness reasons. Combined with a work-from-home job, buyers are looking to more “fit” or “outdoorsy” parts of the country or for homes that have the extra space for a home gym, outdoor exercise and recreation areas, or access to those sorts of facilities or fixtures for increasing their fitness without the traditional gym life.
The Great Outdoors
A lot of folks realized things about themselves during the COVID lockdowns of 2020, and more homeowners put more value into doing the things they used to do “out on the town” at home with their families instead. For some homeowners, a lack of outdoor space at their homes may have put a damper on some of the more traditional outdoor family gatherings which put a greater premium on homes that could accommodate those activities.
Look for homes with more outdoor space or room to at least create outdoor space to be scarce following the pandemic. More homebuyers will be looking to the things they couldn’t do during the lockdown as a motivational factor for purchasing a new home. If you’re motivated to move into a new home and create a more (work/play/exercise)-from-home space, then get in touch with Tidewater Mortgage Services, Inc. today to talk to a loan expert about your mortgage options!
