Working from home was foist upon many of us during the Covid pandemic, and with many people often having to work from home at the same time, coupled with restrictions on mobility, meaning that those with large properties with an ample garden were suddenly in a fantastic position.

Research from TU Delft reveals that the housing preferences of nearly 18% of home workers have changed during the pandemic, with a desire for space, privacy, greenery, and peace and quiet.

Housing preferences

The research was based on a survey conducted among aspiring homeowners who had registered onto the Nieuwbouw Nederland platform, which offers a wide range of new-build homes.  The participants were divided into groups according to both the composition of the household and the degree of urbanization of the property.

Participants were also asked to take their financial circumstances into account so that their housing preferences were realistic and not a fantastical ideal that was not feasible.

The results confirm many of the suspicions held during the early months of the pandemic.  For instance, there was a strong desire for more green space around the home, whether in the form of a garden or a local park.  The majority of respondents wanted easier access to nature and live in generally greener surroundings.  This was in contrast to the various amenities offered by cities, which fell in popularity.

This desire for extra space also extended inside the home, with the number of participants saying they would like an extra room doubling during the pandemic.  Interestingly, however, this did not correlate with a desire for extra floorspace, suggesting people are keener on private office space rather than bigger rooms, with functionality of the home key.

There were also clear differences between those with children and those without.  For instance, most of those who have changed their housing preferences were found to both live in cities and have children, suggesting that this is the group where the pandemic has had the biggest impact on housing requirements.

The question now is whether these changes will endure once the pandemic has abated and life returns back to some semblance of normality again.  The survey did address this and respondents did, at least, seem to think that their changing preferences are likely to endure and are far from a flash in the pan.  Time will tell if that is really the case.