What impact has Covid-19 had on buyer attitudes globally?
Kate Everett-Allen finds that not only have buyers had time to reflect on their lifestyles during lockdown, but they've done so at a time when the demands on, and expectations of a home, have grown significantly
2 minutes to read
The Covid-19 crisis has fundamentally changed the way we live our lives. For many people the home has become a hub from which we work, exercise, learn, socialise and relax.
With demands on the home expanding and people having had time to reflect on the way they live and use their space, it is inevitable that as we ease out of lockdown these changes will have repercussions on property markets around the world.
In order to best advise our clients on lifestyle and investment purchases, we have sought the views of buyers around the world, to gauge how attitudes have changed as a result of the pandemic.
Some of our survey findings are to be expected – a desire for more outdoor space and a home office are perhaps not surprising, but only four months ago few could have foreseen that a foreign governments’ handling of the Covid-19 crisis, their speed of reaction and the support put in place, would become a critical consideration for second home buyers around the world.
About the survey
The Knight Frank Global Buyer Survey was undertaken between 5 June and 23 June 2020 with the aim of understanding what impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on residential markets and in particular, on buyer attitudes. The findings represent the views of over 700 Knight Frank clients across 44 countries, all of whom have registered an interest in buying property with Knight Frank.
How has Covid-19 influenced buyers' plans?
One in four survey respondents, said they were more likely to move home in the next 12 months as a result of the pandemic.
Most respondents who said they were more likely to move in the next 12 months are seeking a different property in the same location (40%). Some 26% are seeking a different property elsewhere in the same country and 34% of those considering a move are considering a purchase abroad (9% of all respondents). But where?
The UK, Spain and France top the list of preferred destinations, followed by Australia, Canada, Switzerland and the US. Such countries offer a good quality of life, political stability, a secure currency, excellent education systems and in normal times are easily accessible. New Zealand, Portugal, Malta and Norway also ranked highly.
When it comes to motives, upgrading the family’s primary residence ranked highest as the main reason for purchasing. Interestingly, improved access to quality healthcare ranked second – and it is perhaps no coincidence that good healthcare is another common denominator of those countries listed as preferred destinations. Acquiring a holiday home in the sun came third overall as a reason for purchasing a new property and business or employment reasons ranked in fourth place.
We will be running a series of blogs over the coming weeks highlighting the survey results but you can read the report in full here
For more information please contact Kate Everett-Allen