This pandemic has changed many things about our life. We have learned we can work from home and that many of our face-to-face meetings are unnecessary. COVID will change numerous features of our home’s makeup. While open floorplans were once high on a buyer’s wish list, the need for personal space is now a priority. Many adults will continue to work at home in some fashion. It may not be every day, but we have learned that endless commutes are simply not productive.
Our real estate office has been conducting weekly office meetings via Zoom. No more jockeying for parking spaces and wasting time driving to and from. Ideally, we are all learning how to be more efficient. As we drive less, perhaps the need for cars for each adult household member will decrease.
As we go back and forth with restaurant dining restrictions, we have grown accustomed to takeout and more home cooking. Once gourmet kitchens were more of a showroom rather than a workroom for many, that too has changed. Families are home together and preparing meals together. Our family has dusted off our wok, and we have been cooking Chinese food again.
My daughter’s Montrose yoga studio is closed but still conducts outdoor yoga and zoom classes. Gyms are regrouping as well. But home gyms or a dedicated space to work out is now a highly desired home feature.
The long-term impact COVID will have on our home features is still playing out. But there will be an even larger influence on commercial real estate. As a result of more people working from home, there will be diminished demand for office space. I have seen this with our local real estate offices. While I wear a mask in public, I am certainly uncomfortable with it. I prefer to work at home, maskless. And after nine months of working from home, I am completely set up. There is no need for me to ever return to the office other than for a face-to-face meeting.
More people working from home in some fashion will result in fewer business lunches which will again impact restaurants. As more restaurants shut down, what will become of their buildings? Will there be a glut on the market?
It takes three weeks to make a new habit. And each day, we are becoming further entrenched in these new ways of life. For the most part, let’s try to keep them positive.
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Realtor life during Covid
I am a firm believer in just because you can doesn’t mean you should. We are social creatures at heart and it would be a shame to miss out on the social interactions at work forever. It also fosters networking and collaboration in ways that are lost in zoom. Not to say that work at home options should ever go whole away for people who want or need them but option is the key here