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The Coronavirus pandemic has reshaped what many people want from their homes, with a trend for more space, inside and out.

Increased homeworking is changing how people view their homes. A recent survey by property group, Savills, reports that nearly half (49%) expect homeworking to continue after the lockdown. 4 in 10 (40%) of people under 50 now want to upsize to a bigger home, with private outside space also in demand.

Along with size, the flexibility of space is also important, especially being able to have an integrated working area or the room for a home office.

The Architects’ Journal looks at the impact of the pandemic on future approaches to housebuilding. Incorporating purpose-built home working spaces, with access to good-quality natural light and soundproofing between walls (and traffic) were seen as new fundamentals. The Journal also explores housing design more widely, including emerging community needs.

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We strive to do our very best as a property management company, so a recent comment from a resident at a large development in Barking was much appreciated.

‘Thank you so much for all your hard work’ read the feedback. It’s always good to receive positive comments as property management comes with its own unique challenges and certainly right now, amidst the pandemic. We’ll keep on doing what we do and post more feedback and updates.

Our Instagram and LinkedIn accounts are a good place to see everything we get up to as a Group and how we aim to lead the sector. Besides property management, our specialist services include residential lettings, property insurance, surveying and leasehold advice. Our ethos is always the same: to treat each property under our care as a unique investment and every client as an individual.

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From insuring houses and blocks of flats to commercial buildings, just ask. To meet your needs, we can arrange any of the following property insurance policies:

• Buildings and Commercial Property Insurance
• Directors & Officers Liability Insurance
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• Landlord Insurance
• Lift Inspection and Maintenance Insurance
• Property Owners Insurance
• Public Liability Insurance
• Terrorism Cover

While the market for many sectors is challenging at the moment, and will remain so for some time to come, experts have been looking at the potential future opportunities. This includes for the property industry.

Global real estate services provider, Savills, pinpoints the following three possible growth areas once the current crisis has been overcome.

1. With a renewed and heightened demand for consumer experiences, we could see an expansion in restaurants, leisure facilities, cultural amenities and experience-rich retail offerings.
2. E-commerce is set to prosper further. The sector had already been growing at pace before the outbreak of Covid-19 and is now more in demand than ever. This is likely to lead to a need for ever-greater logistics warehousing and units. The same could be the case for data centres, as extra emphasis is placed on business continuity planning.
3. Consultants, specialist companies and providers supporting in the above areas may well also benefit in the future, from advising on and developing new projects to fitting out spaces.

In terms of residential property, MoneyWeek highlights estate agent reports of the ‘pent-up-demand’ from both buyers and sellers, especially as February 2020 recorded the highest level of mortgage approvals for six years. Future inflation, the experts point out, could well make property more appealing as a ‘real asset’. MoneyWeek also forecasts a trend for country properties to outperform city ones as a result of the shift to greater home working. Properties even outside of traditional commuting distance of London and major cities may be well placed when the market returns to something akin to normality.

Finally, the rise in the number of rental properties on the global market could continue past the lockdown as Airbnb hosts move their properties across from holiday rentals and keep them there.

Gateway will continue to update you as the sector adapts and develops.