Hyperoptic shares research on ‘the post-pandemic home’

Hyperoptic, a leading full fibre broadband provider, has today released a whitepaper on the ‘post-pandemic home,’ which features qualitive and quantitative research of 311 property experts and a survey of 2,000 Brits. The whitepaper gives insight into how the pandemic has impacted the design and function of the modern home.

The whitepaper examines a key market shift that has impacted the real estate market – the move to home working. Nearly half (49 per cent) of the general public said that they want to continue working from home full-time and only one in ten (10 per cent) of respondents said they want to go back to working full-time in an office.

This has prompted a shift in the residents’ relationship with their connectivity. Over half of Brits (52 per cent) say that their Wi-Fi quality is something they cannot compromise on since working from home. This has been reflected by the experience of the property experts – 54 per cent have noted an increase in complaints about internet providers, but just over a third (35 per cent) feel that the property industry had been responsive to this greater need for fast and reliable broadband.

With homes now in part becoming offices, both residents and property experts have been working out how to make homes adaptable to both purposes. Many of the property experts said they have already increased investment in co-working spaces and shared space within the homes. They also have plans to make bedrooms more easily convertible into workspaces, with new features such as fold-out desks.

There is also evidence that residents who plan to continue to work from home are already moving from one-bedroom flats to two-bedroom flats to give them space and separation. The property experts believe this has been enabled by the recent drop in rental prices, which has enabled them to upgrade.

Property experts also noted investment in coronavirus-related in-building technology, such as touch-free access and remote building management systems. 44 per cent of industry respondents agreed that they had seen this shift, including technologies such as “keyless entry”, “temperature checks”, “touch free lifts” and the increased use of QR codes, largely being retrofitted into existing developments.

Liam McAvoy, Senior Director of Business Development, Hyperoptic: “Last year we issued our whitepaper ‘a connection to tomorrow,’ which explored the future of technology and communications in real estate. Since then, we’ve faced the most disruptive period the UK has ever seen with the advent of Covid-19. However, times of disruption can have the unexpected benefit of acting as catalyst that brings forward plans that may have already been in train, driving innovation and lasting change for the better.

“We wanted to get insight into how the property sector and residents have responded to the unprecedented changes that have been forced onto them. The overwhelming consensus is that the function of the home has changed – and will have huge and long-lasting impact for the whole of the property sector, across technology, functionality and design.”

The whitepaper concludes with a number of predictions for the post-pandemic home, which could in turn enhance living environments and cater for the UK’s growing desire for convenient, low-friction lifestyles:

• Apartment sizes may shrink further to create more shared amenity space to support co-working, but also to further enhance on-site services: gyms, food offerings, and delivery reception
• Since communal space won’t always be appropriate, developers may look to include spaces specifically for video calls with space for a laptop and an appropriate background
• Noise becomes a bigger issue when people spend more time at home, so our panel suggested relocating washing machines out of the kitchen so you can work undisturbed at the kitchen table
• Good quality lighting, both natural and artificial, also becomes a critical issue when people are spending more time at home through the day
• Air quality is also an issue: future homes will likely have more attention paid to ventilation
• Home working could have a large carbon footprint because of the poor quality of insulation in UK homes, so improving insulation on existing stock is likely to see renewed focus
• Convenience is key, so developers will continue to invest in smart technologies that allow tenants to interact with both the building and management services

To download a full copy of the ‘The Post-Pandemic Home’ whitepaper, please visit: www.hyperoptic.com/connection-to-tomorrow/