10 home living trends that caught us by surprise during COVID-19
From paying record prices for regional holiday homes to bingeing on jigsaws, Australians surprised themselves with their odd behaviour in the pandemic....
Residz Team 4 min read
If you’d stocked up on dumbbells, dogs, toilet paper, and a few beachside houses during 2020 you’d be laughing in 2022. These are some of the trends that turned into frenzies during COVID-19, catching most of us unawares. From paying record prices for regional holiday homes to stocking up on jigsaws, Australians surprised themselves with their odd behaviour around house and home. Read our list and see how many boxes you tick...
Rush to buy exercise equipment and jigsaws
In 2022 there’s rust on the basketball hoop and washing on the treadmill, the dumbbells and jigsaws are under the bed, and the ping pong table is gathering cobwebs. But for a time there, buying exercise equipment and jigsaws were the obsession of families in lockdown. Fitness equipment suppliers told of people queuing outside their stores for hours to buy gym equipment for their homes. Jigsaw puzzle sales lifted more than 300 percent in 2020 and became the neighbourhood “currency” for many.
Soaring house prices
Unexpected and unfair, record house price rises during the pandemic really separated the have and the have-nots of house ownership. Our appetite for paying record prices defied predictions from experts who prepared us for a recession. Although prices sank initially, housing values rose 24.6% between the end of March 2020 and February 2022, reports CoreLogic’s Eliza Owen.
Lifestyle lockdowns
A curious and related trend was the contagion of the mass move to lifestyle locations. Perhaps the tut-tutting of TV news anchors over footage of sunbathers on crammed beaches during the lockdowns prompted FOMO (fear of missing out). Whatever the reason, cramped inner-city apartments were left behind as householders packed their belongings and moved nearer the beach. The Sunshine Coast, the Illawarra and the Gold Coast have median house values now sitting above the million dollar mark (CoreLogic).
Toilet paper hoarding
Nothing shocked us Aussies more than seeing mass panic-buying of toilet paper during the pandemic. Despite local manufacturers repeatedly stating supplies were sound, householders felt their stash of loo rolls was one thing they could control when everything was going down the toilet (so to speak). BBC reported it wasn’t unique to Australia - a similar situation besieged places worse-affected by the virus, such as Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
Dog, cat adoptions went through the roof
The term “companion” animal took on new meaning during the lockdowns. Early on in the pandemic adoptions at the RSPCA increased by 40 percent, reaching 291 in one week across NSW in March 2020. In one study of Google searches for keywords relating to pet, dog and cat adoption, a peak was discovered between April and May 2020. Searches were up 250% on the year before. It also shows searches online for the term “dog adoption” started decreasing in July 2020 and returned to the 5-year average by December 2020.
Move to regional areas
It can’t be overstated how the ability to work remotely changed Australia over the past two years. An overnight digital transformation of the workplace allowed first home buyers and holiday house investors to buy houses and units in areas once thought to be too far away to be practical. Regional Australia even outperformed capital cities. CoreLogic data shows regional Australian dwelling (unit and house) values have lifted almost 40% since March 2020, while capital city home values have increased around 21% in the same period.
Renovations
A trend that has lasted through to 2022 is homeowners spending big on renovations. All the work-from-home opportunities, the rise in value of homes, low interest rates, a government stimulus package, and the country’s closed borders all contributed to a rush on renos. AFR reported in late 2021 that DAs were up over 23 percent year-on-year (ABS figures) with private housing approvals 42 percent higher than August 2019.
Staycations
Loftily known as “domestic tourism”, staycations are a major trend in 2021-22. Despite lockdowns and the country’s borders lifting, Australians appear to prefer to holiday in their own state or country. The Regional Australia Institute says 11 million Aussies would normally go overseas each year so no wonder it’s hard to book an Airbnb in a popular holiday spot.
Bleisure travel
Okay so this is a new one for me, but I just love this term “bleisure travel.” Also known as “digital nomads”, this trending group is sick of waiting for holidays to rock around, so instead they take their work to their dream destinations. Hospitality Insights says hotels and food and beverage venues could capitalise on the trend by adapting to meet the needs and wants of this emerging segment; ample plug sockets, free high-speed WIFI and great coffee are good starting points.
Home office
This trend to work from home has been the catalyst for many changes in 2022 society. As a result, it may be the most significant trend of all. The OECD says 47% of employees in Australia teleworked during lockdowns in 2020. To everyone’s surprise, many will choose to never return. 89% of employees who did not telework gave main reasons as: The nature of job itself, their employer not offering the option of working from home, their home situation not being conducive for work, or their home lacking access to the Internet or other proper equipment. (ABS 2020)
Summary
Looking at how we got to where we are today is a fascinating exercise. The “butterfly effect” of each pandemic trend will be amplified in decades to come. Picking the next trends is not easy, even armed with information about past and current behaviours. Will we start commuting again and leave regional areas behind? Will we adjust our idea of home to become “where we are today”? Will we stop travelling overseas as often? Chewing over some of the scenarios while you sit on the beach or run on your treadmill could be valuable.
Image: Wikipedia, man on beach by Johntex.