Our Changing Homes - many owners have repurposed rooms

More than four in 10 owners have significantly repurposed part of their homes during the pandemic says Zoopla.

Amongst the 41 per cent who said they had to make changes, more than half say they have entirely repurposed at least one bedroom whilst one in five households have lost multiple bedrooms. 

Zoopla calculates that this equates to a whopping 8,856,000 bedrooms that have been ‘lost’ amongst the UK’s 24m privately owned homes during the pandemic.

With remote and hybrid working now set to be a mainstay for many, almost half of those who have made changes have created a home office - which equates to over 4.5m across the UK. And of these some 58 per cent say that they plan to permanently keep it. 

Nearly 1.3m home gyms have been created, alongside 984,000 home bars, nearly 900,000 home cinemas or music rooms and 688,800 dedicated classrooms.

And people have spent heavily on this too.

The research shows that homeowners who adapted their homes spent an average of £3,714, with home offices costing on average £1,735, gyms £1,568 and home cinemas £3,841. 

Home offices in particular have been one of the more contentious room changes, with many being forced to give up living space in order to simply carry out their job. In fact, 16 per cent of homeowners who created one say they resent giving up space in their home for the benefit of their employer. 

For those who have had to repurpose rooms, more than half say this has meant they have had to compromise on their space at home, leaving homeowners less happy with the space they have. 

Amongst those who have, 28 per cent say they now have less space for guests to stay, 21 per cent say they have less or no privacy and 11 per cent state that their children now have to share a bedroom. 

However, this feeling of not being completely happy with your home rises significantly amongst younger homeowners who likely have smaller properties.

For many, having to change their home setup during the pandemic has highlighted the need to find somewhere new and better suited to their changed needs. Of homeowners who have made changes, nearly a third say that this has made them consider moving home. 

Andrew Marshall, Chief Commercial Officer at Zoopla says: “It’s clear that our homes have changed substantially as a result of the pandemic, with home offices in particular becoming a regular fixture across UK households.

“Our research also highlights the opportunity for agents to focus on the versatility of their listings when marketing them to potential buyers - and we’ve heard this first hand from agents out on valuations, too. It’s no longer just about marketing a four bed house - a three bed plus a home office is proving to have real attraction amongst buyers in a post-lockdown world.

“The results also provide a promising outlook for the housing market more broadly, with this reconfiguration of home leading many homeowners to decide that now is the time to hunt for a property with more space. We’re optimistic that this impetus will help release more supply to market over the coming months.”