In mid-March 2020 Spain found itself in a state of alarm and began with total confinement. Now, the situation of restrictions seems to relax and we see that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer and closer.
On March 14, 2020, a state of alarm was decreed in Spain, establishing a quarantine and full lockdown. This confinement situation has made the Spanish rethink many things, among them, satisfaction with their home.
The quarantine has served to rethink how Spaniards want their home to be when buying or renting in times of COVID-19: bright, with outdoor areas, and with an office to work. Now they opt for large houses, away from the large population centres and with outdoor areas such as gardens and terraces.
The flat is the type of housing most demanded, and now it is in a decrease: in April it represented only 52% of searches, which means a drop of 14% compared to previous searches.
On the contrary, rustic properties have experienced a 46% rise in searches: the chalets, 36%, and the semi-detached houses, 24%.
Apartments, lofts, ground floors, lots, and semi-detached houses are stable in the number of searches.
When looking for a home, a series of filters can be applied that help to screen that search according to our expectations and desires. Of all those that can be used, the garden and terrace have experienced a rise compared to before the quarantine.
Equinox Urban Housing a Spanish based real estate agency was established in 2014 with the goal to match clients with the perfect place to live. Equinox Urban Housing considers that real estate had to be more than just selling or renting properties.
According to Equinox Urban Housing, since March 18 it has been verified that the search for homes with a garden and terrace has increased by 40%. What was not a priority before has now become almost essential.
For its part, the garden filter has always been used more than the balcony filter, but in recent months the trend has changed and its search has increased by 128%. This is because the isolation has helped to value the outdoor environment in which to be able to walk or enjoy the good weather, and what better way than to do it at home?
If it is true that remote working has come to stay, the criteria in the search for housing are going to undergo an unprecedented change. People will no longer seek the comfort of having a home close to the workplace, but will opt for properties that meet their needs: brightness, size, location or outdoor spaces will be some of the protagonists in searches from now on. Now the house will be important in itself.
The increase in the search for farms, townhouses, and chalets also translates into exodus: these houses are located on the outskirts of cities, so people want to stop living in the centres to move to the outskirts.
These new search parameters or what we really need from our home were not contemplated three months ago, before the pandemic.
What is clear is that COVID-19 has taught us to rethink what we need and what is essential in our lives and in our homes.