In January I predicted that 2020 would be the year that consumers would regain their confidence in the UK housing market with the uplift of a final decision on Brexit and the ‘Boris Bounce’. Then came Covid-19.
Many furloughed staff are reconsidering their careers, manufacturing businesses are diversifying product ranges during the pandemic and entrepreneurial home-based micro businesses are booming. As people’s attitudes towards home working changes, there’s real potential for more high street office stock to become available to the market.
As a fairly small agile firm we were able to adapt to the new way of working quickly and were already selling new properties off plan using CGI technology and digital brochures. We also introduced virtual viewings to keep the developments moving during the pandemic lockdown.
During lockdown our sales messages have been joined by Covid-19 updates for our buyers to ensure they are kept abreast of industry movement via podcasts and webinars – whose numbers have increased in engagement by 30%.
Benefitting from the impact of Covid-19
We also wanted to support buyers who had committed pre-Covid-19. Our investment programme was adjusted to help home buyers during the #lockdown, providing them with 3% cash back on their initial investment on a monthly basis rather than on completion of the property transaction.
As lockdown lifts we will see a growing use of old office units for new residential stock in the UK housing market. We’re working with developers that are investing in this sector and have continued to see success in sales during the pandemic crisis. There is a real appetite to also ‘retrofit’ a lot of unused retail spaces in town centres. As many businesses review how their workforce will operate post-pandemic, more office stock is likely to come onto the market that can converted to residential developments.
Growth in ‘Office to Residential’ Homes
In a post Covid-19 world, office stock can be developed with social distancing in mind. Many ‘office to resi’ schemes already have larger spaces and communal areas from the original commercial floorplans. Private outdoor space can also be made available.
Developments also offer concierge services, but where there is no concierge, we are not installing mail boxes, but fitting lockers instead, minimising the need for human contact. Our new developments will continue to adapt and embrace new types of technologies and innovations that will allow for social distancing and help adhere to coronavirus guidelines.
We’re now looking at a new office conversion in Preston. It’s a former Government tax office being turned into a block of apartments. For this one, we will be installing specific post-Covid-19 features to accommodate things like virtual entrance halls with app-controlled lockers, specialist filtration installations to reduce the risk of spreading airborne virus infections and sanitation stations. Given the new wave of remote working we’re also looking to work with caravan and boat designers to create the ultimate work from home environment.
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
Rise of remote working
A recent study by ICM and YouGov found that nearly half of the UK workforce thinks flexible working will increase, with a third (33%) of this group expecting to increase the amount they work from home by at least three days a week after lockdown – rising to 81% for those expecting to work at least 1 day a week from home.
This again is where office to resi stock comes into its own. Installing a digital structure to allow remote workers to ‘stay connected’ is crucial to the converted offices – many of these floorplans will already have factored in cabling and routes for supporting network connectivity.
For remote workers, all our office development sites have super-fast broadband facilities on-site plus there are also USB and plug sockets as standard. WIFI is included as part of the service charge for the developments.
The office to resi sites we market are also centrally located – with good access to public transport, but actually many are close to the main employers in town centres making them walker friendly. People can nip out to get groceries locally and can access many of the essential services and utilities on their doorsteps. Currently around two in five employees work in city or town centres, but this could be set to rise with the growth of office conversions.
The unplanned 2020 pandemic has forced many people to work from home, some for the very first time, and many businesses have embraced the benefits of a remote workforce. Could one of the positive legacies of COVID-19 be that many of us end up working from home more often; saving money on travel, reinvesting in town centres, supporting local economies and helping the environment?
By Andrew Ward, Founder – Solomon New Homes
