Property hunters’ desire for outdoor space, the room to extend and larger properties has waned in the post-pandemic era.
Homebuyers are placing less emphasis on indoor and outdoor space than they did three years ago, focusing instead on broadband and mobile connectivity and transport links.
Search for space cools
A survey conducted by specialist lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) revealed that the square footage of a property had sunk by five places on a table of the most important features to homebuyers, moving from second to seventh.
Meanwhile, the potential for extensions and conversions plummeted by six spots to rank 14th.
While still scoring highly, a garden or outdoor space lost its footing at the top of the table, falling to second place. Instead, broadband and mobile connectivity became the most important feature, voted for by 84% of homebuyers, rising from the third place it gained in 2021.
Changing work patterns
The survey compared homebuyers’ preferences during the pandemic, when lockdown restrictions drove the so-called “race for space”, to those now revealing how hybrid working patterns over fully remote working have created a different focus when searching for a new property.
The biggest climber over the last three years is the importance of proximity to transport links, which is up eight spots from 14th to sixth to sit one place higher than square footage.
Paresh Raja, chief executive of MFS, said: “Homebuyers’ priorities changed radically during the pandemic. But the speculation was whether those changes were temporary or permanent – and our research shows there have indeed been some interesting shifts back to pre-Covid times.
“The increased importance of transport links clearly indicates changing work patterns, with more people needing properties in well-connected areas as fully remote work becomes less common. Meanwhile, the fact people are placing less emphasis on square footage and the potential for extensions suggests a shift towards convenience and connectivity over expansion, marking the end of the Covid-inspired race for space.”
Samantha Partington is a freelance trade and consumer journalist writing about property and personal finance. Previously she worked worked for the Daily Mail and Property Week. She is the former deputy editor of Mortgage Solutions and editor of Specialist Lending Solutions.
Before becoming a journalist, Samantha worked as a mortgage broker and latterly for a mortgage, bridging and secured loan lender. Samantha is CeMAP qualified. Follow her on Twitter @SamJPartington1.
