What do you think people in general will want from houses once this is over? What will you want from your next house after this is over?

[waterandlemonjuice]

We want to sell in a few years, assuming the market isn’t completely screwed, and are hoping our house will sell as:

it’s in catchment for good schools (will some private schools go bust?)
has an annexe for a relative
is in the countryside in a community minded village
has a garden with space to grow vegetables
Has several bathrooms and good sized bedrooms for everyone
Has space to WFH and fast broadband, off street parking

What do you think people will be looking for once this is over? We are hoping some of the above.

Has this made you rethink your house priorities? And if so, what do you want in your next house?

Affordability. I’m more aware of what a stretch it would be to cover our mortgage if our income reduced.

We are looking to sell as soon as lockdown is over. We may struggle to sell our flat though as we are moving to get a garden. The only thing in our favour is it is a very large flat. And will be put on for a good price. We are now facing a commute of an hour each way to work just to get a garden. Currently our commute is 10 mins but we cannot afford anything locally.

I think commutability to large towns will be far less important than now. Home office space will be much more important.
Outside space,

We are currently in a flat in the town centre with no outside space. Before all this we were looking to upsize. Now we are just thankful for a small mortgage and low outgoings.

We had just had attic workroom just put in finished mid/late Feb - which was a massive blessing as DD and her bf moved in

We have been amazed at how well we have all got on at such a stressful time and are wondering about living together long term but we would prefer a slightly bigger house with a slightly bigger garden (ours is about 20 ft by 30ft)

As someone above said, cost. Realising how fragile our finances could be if we lost our jobs and servicing a huge debt just seems crazy.

I'm stuck in my current house for another 6 years until my last two finish secondary school. I've actually been really grateful for this house during lockdown and have a renewed appreciation of it, as the layout has really worked out well for home working/schooling/exercise etc.

But if I moved now, and only if I was allowed to continue WFH some if the time, I would like: at least 4 bedrooms of decent sizes; a study; large kitchen and separate utility room; reasonable sized garden but fairly easy maintenance; walking distance to mainline station which takes me into Liverpool Street; an independent annex or detached building I could turn into rentable accommodation. No en suites but 2 or 3 bathrooms everyone can use - this is what I have now as we changed the door layout. I wouldn't need to be bothered about schools next time.

Your house sounds great OP.

I think people will want home gyms too or the space for one.

We’ve got some equipment in the garden and a treadmill in a reception room, but not in a separate room. We could convert part of our garage before we sell though, that might make sense.

We were thinking about either extending or buying pre-lockdown. Our priorities remain the same for a new house: larger kitchen, flat child-friendly garden, fourth bedroom, utility room and downstairs toilet. An extension would get us all that but not the garden. Our garden is gorgeous but full of non toddler friendly steps and only a little bit of lawn.

Actually I forgot about that - we converted our garage into a reception room so if I moved again I would have a garage and not convert it. I really miss not having somewhere to store bikes, a chest freezer, general junk etc.

I'm really glad we live where we do. Moved to a fairly rural, less populated place 5 years ago. We're in a nice village, not isolated at all (decent access to supermarkets, facilities etc) but plenty of space, great views, lovely walks from the house etc. In terms of the house itself, there's nothing particular I'd want as a result of experiencing lockdown. If anything we need less space at the moment- no need for a spare room when you can't have visitors! I wouldn't want a home gym. Walking, running and yoga videos are more my cup of tea.

I won't ever move if I can help it, I have a low mortgage and good neighbours. If I ever build an extension, I'd want a pantry and a room with more open space.

I also think people will want more space to stock up in future, I've got a small pantry and wouldn't be without it, a larger one would be great.

A pantry is a good point. We have a utility room but no pantry.

I think storage in a utility room would be ideal. My in-laws has cabinets from their old kitchen in theirs and it would be ideal for storing more tins etc. As it is, their kitchen is huge so they have more storage than they know what to do with!

We have an extra fridge freezer in the garage which had been invaluable. Even before lockdown, I used it - for batch cooking (freezer) and wine (fridge) mostly. If we do move, space to put at least an extra freezer would certainly help with being able to stock up on meals in case of another lockdown.

I'd keep your garage OP, and just suggest potential for conversion to home gym if desired. It's not something I'd be bothered about.

Key features I am looking for:
Garden
Own parking (not shared driveway)
Garage
Kitchen and bathroom in good condition

Bonus features:
Storage or extra space (could be airing cupboards, extra room, utility room)
Extension
Conservatory (but not at expense of garden)
Loft conversion or potential

Not open plan.
Heat efficiency - WFH in the winter gets expensive!

More storage, more soundproofing and privacy in the garden.

Finding a house with a 3rd bedroom big enough to fit an actual bed in is a problem here 🙄 do that will be top of our priorities. And off street parking as we have 4 vehicles

A garden
A space for working from home

Yes good idea, more storage space to stock up on non perishable goods.

We want somewhere you describe op. We almost have that but not the schools bit so we are planning a move for the schools.

We have everything described by you all ... hopefully I’ll have a stampede then

We have everything you describe and a low mortgage as we bought a decade ago. We had been tentatively thinking of moving, but no way now, we are staying put until the kids finish school (littlest is Y2 so a way to go yet)