Journal
Property must haves: home offices and gardens top home wishlists for life after lockdown
Home offices and gardens have overtaken factors such as number of bedrooms on the league table of property "must haves", according to a new survey.
Outdoor dining area, as seen in a home in Nuns Island.
Loc Chau
Wednesday 3 June 2020
Home office space and access to a garden have shot up the league table of property “must haves” since the start of the lockdown, according to a survey today.
Buyers’ “non-negotiable” demands since the property market reopened in the middle of last month were ranked in order with a dedicated extra room for home working topping the list.
Second came outside space in the form of garden, roof terrace or balcony, followed in third place by proximity to a park or cycle routes.
The preferences marked a major shift from previous surveys when “vanity factors” such as external appearance, size of kitchen and number of bedrooms had ranked higher. The shifts in the top ten ‘must have’ features show that suddenly people are needing more space and not just for working from home. In our transformed Covid-19 world, life has become more home-based and this will no doubt become the norm for some while to come, from eating and socialising to gardening and exercising.
While some house-hunters plan to move out of Montreal, many are looking to move locally within the city, or even closer to work. Cycle routes are the new travel lines into town, walking distances to schools and how far it is to the park are now what everyone wants to know.
When the stay-at-home order was imposed, many business leaders were skeptical over the impact remote-working would have over productivity, as well as communication and collaboration within teams. But the lockdown period has underlined the positive impact working from home has on well-being and engagement.
Second came outside space in the form of garden, roof terrace or balcony, followed in third place by proximity to a park or cycle routes.
The preferences marked a major shift from previous surveys when “vanity factors” such as external appearance, size of kitchen and number of bedrooms had ranked higher. The shifts in the top ten ‘must have’ features show that suddenly people are needing more space and not just for working from home. In our transformed Covid-19 world, life has become more home-based and this will no doubt become the norm for some while to come, from eating and socialising to gardening and exercising.
While some house-hunters plan to move out of Montreal, many are looking to move locally within the city, or even closer to work. Cycle routes are the new travel lines into town, walking distances to schools and how far it is to the park are now what everyone wants to know.
When the stay-at-home order was imposed, many business leaders were skeptical over the impact remote-working would have over productivity, as well as communication and collaboration within teams. But the lockdown period has underlined the positive impact working from home has on well-being and engagement.