A separate room for a home office, plenty of space and a garden spot is higher up on the wish list for home buyers in Oslo than before the pandemic.
It shows a survey done by the research institute YouGov for Aktiv Eiendomsmegling.
– HOME: All the home sitting during the pandemic has clearly affected what people want from their homes, says CEO of Aktiv Eiendomsmegling, Karsten Onsrud. Photo: Aktiv Eiendomsmegling
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– People have had a need to get a little more arm strokes, says CEO of Aktiv Eiendomsmegling, Karsten Onsrud.
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Need for peace and quiet
The survey was conducted in April, with responses from over 500 Oslo citizens over the age of 18.
As many as 51 percent of respondents under the age of 55 say that the pandemic has changed what they want in a home.
It has become especially important with the opportunity to work from home in peace and quiet, preferably in a separate room.
– Many have sat and looked each other in the eyes over the dining table and seen that it may not have been completely ideal, Onsrud says.
– HOME OFFICE: Many people opened their eyes to the possibility of working from home during the pandemic. Now more home buyers want a separate room to work in. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
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This applies to both adult couples with small children, and students who live in a collective, he states.
Men in particular are concerned with having their own room to work in. The survey shows that 20 per cent of male Oslo residents say that it has become more important, compared with 14 per cent of women.
Women want a garden
The pandemic has also made more people want to have the opportunity to be out in the garden or sit on the balcony.
– People want the opportunity to go out and stretch their legs without meeting people, Onsrud says.
During the pandemic, there were several periods where you had to stay at home, and several periods with strict restrictions on how many people were allowed to visit.
Onsrud believes this may have made more people see it as important that the home they buy has an outdoor area.
– POPULAR: It has always been popular with a garden, according to Onsrud, but the new survey shows that even more people want a garden now. Photo: Pandora Film / TV 2
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Most women are aware of the need for a garden. The survey shows that 21 per cent of women have become more concerned with having access to a garden or a green area, compared with 13 per cent of the male respondents.
Claustrophobic
The CEO of Privatmegleren, Grethe Meier, says that there were several who experienced it as almost claustrophobic at home during the pandemic.
– It was simply too close, she says.
It therefore became an increasing trend to refurbish to have a better place with the children.
In addition, there were many in Oslo who wanted to buy a little bigger, preferably out of the city.
– We experience that this demand has decreased slightly. We forget quickly, she says.
– LIMITED: The managing director of Privatmegleren, Grethe Meier, says that there is a limited offer of family homes with gardens in Oslo. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
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Must give up in place
Although many people dream of buying a spacious house with a garden, few can afford this, says Meier.
– Most people just struggle to get into the housing market, she says.
Although there are many who now want to buy a house with a home office and garden plot, Meier does not think that it is necessarily a trend that will last.
– There is a reason why we chose to live as we did before the pandemic. Many people want to live in the big city, and then you have to give up space, she says.
– EXPENSIVE: Due to, among other things, high housing prices in Oslo, many people moved out of the city during the pandemic to get more space, says Grethe Meier in Privatmegleren. Photo: Jan-Petter Dahl / TV 2
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Energy efficient homes
CEO of Aktiv Eiendomsmegling, Karsten Onsrud, believes that the pandemic has left too deep a mark for us to forget the experiences of the first.
– The changes in housing preferences have probably come to stay, he says.
In addition to larger space, home office and garden, Onsrud also experiences that more home buyers have become more concerned about how much electricity the home uses.
– Lately we have seen that people ask more about how energy efficient the homes are, Onsrud says.
He believes that everyone who is looking for housing will ask more about this in the future.
The high electricity prices may be a good explanation for this, Onsrud believes.
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