“Home is a shelter from storms – all sorts of storms”. – William J Bennett
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.Sentiments of Adults
2.Perception of Rented Houses before Lockdown
3.Shift in the Concept of ‘Walk – Work’
4.New Norms of Life with New Views
5.Demand for Homes
1. Sentiments of Adults
Adults and the older generations considered buying homes as the foremost priority of life, though they were able to make it only in the later years of life, usually before retirement. For them, a home is a place that protects from all types of storms and it should be our own rather than a rented one. They struggled for that, saved throughout their lives and most of them were successful in fulfilling their desire of owning a home. As we all know a home is a shelter and a basic necessity of life. It protects from all sorts of disasters, gives freedom and security and is a tangible asset. It is a long term investment and gives good returns over a period of time.
2. Perception of Rented Houses before Lockdown
The sentiments of adults were different but the millennials of the new generation had their own concepts. They preferred renting homes rather than buying. This was the story before the attack of the pandemic. They felt that rental accommodation is more affordable and flexible. It allows them to focus on work and family and lead a more luxurious and upscale lifestyle. They also get the flexibility of switching jobs and moving from one place to another. They felt that their own house is a sort of responsibility and they did not want to take up that extra responsibility. This trend was usually prevailing among IT professionals and corporate hubs. This sector also preferred to live around the workplace to reduce the commute time and expenses. This demand had escalated the rents and some of the millennials were also living in sharing to cover up the rental burden. As a major part of the day was spent at the workplace, the home was just a place to spend evenings and nights; hence it was not given much priority.
3. Shift in the Concept of ‘Walk – Work’
With the forced entry of the pandemic in our lives, almost everything has taken a drastic shift. With work from home gaining priority, and social distancing becoming a norm of life, people have started realizing the importance of owning a house. Even the millennials have to change their perspectives. They have faced the tiring and tough lockdown which has taught numerous lessons to almost every one of us. With salary cuts and job losses, paying rent was a herculean task. People started realizing the importance of owning a home and also appreciated the thoughts of our elders. How true they were!! A house is the only place where one is safe and secure. With social distancing, it was getting tough to share the house, especially when all were locked down in the house 24/7. The need for personal space has gained strength as it offered safety and better hygiene. All those who preferred to have residences around their workplaces and supported the concept of ‘walk-work’, have modified their concepts. A home was no more a place to spend evenings. It was everything – a home, an office and also a school. It has become very important now. It was the only place that kept you safe in times of pandemic. People now realize that owning a home is very important. Therefore there was a shift in the concept of walk to work.
4. New Norms of Life with New Views
In the present scenario, work from home brightens demand for homes. Space in a house has become the foremost concern because a home is also an online school for kids as well as a workplace for all the working members of the family. It no longer has to be around the workplace. The prime necessity is to have a house that could accommodate all the demands of work from home and online classes along with maintaining the new norm of social distancing. This pandemic has gifted the world many norms –the prominent ones being social distancing and work from home. Almost 80% are still working from home and a major part of it live in rented houses. This lot is now moving towards buying a house and prefer to get away from the chaos of the city. They prefer to own a home on the peripheries where the houses are affordable and more spacious. When work is from home, then it doesn’t matter wherever the residence is. Now the basic requirement is space. Demand for buying homes among millennials has increased as compared to the pre –pandemic period. Government and the developers have made it more lucrative and affordable. This sector of millennials expects lesser mobility in future as work from home culture gets stronger and thus the urge towards savings and creating an asset takes hold. Millennials who did not give much priority to owning a house because rented houses gave them the flexibility to switch jobs and move, are now more than ever serious of buying an own house. This pandemic has taught all of us the importance of an own home.
5. Demand for Homes
Work from home culture brightens the demand for homes in suburbs. Areas that were earlier considered to be far from the workplace are experiencing greater demand now. Homebuyers are looking for properties that are not only spacious but also away from the hustle and bustle of city life. People now prefer a better lifestyle over staying close to the workplace. There are many benefits of this change. People get a healthy and spacious atmosphere. Stress of overcrowding will also get reduced from popular areas and get distributed .This will help in better management of resources. It is noticed that the demand for homes has triggered in areas other than the ones located near IT hubs. People earlier – that is before the pandemic had compromised with the size and the quality of the house. What they just wanted was closeness to the workplace. The new norm of work from home brightens demand for homes, so priorities also have taken a shift. Sharing of houses is also taking a backseat because social distancing cannot be maintained in cramped houses. Everyone prefers to have more space. All the earlier trends are getting revised and life is getting tinted with new norms and new trends. As work from home has proved beneficial to both employees as well as organizations, this system will continue in the long run. Hence the decision of buying houses brightens up, thus increasing the demand for homes. The Pandemic, though devastating, has taught all of us many lessons, one of them is to own a house, which can be a shelter in times of crisis and even in times of job losses or in times of work from home. So the concept of work from home brightens demand for homes.
“There is nothing more important than a good, safe and secure home.” – Rosalynn Carter
It will be more gratifying if the home is our own.
– Written By Pallavi Krishna
