It’s fair to say that Covid-19 has had a profound effect on how we live. And while we’re over the worst of it in Australia (for now), its effects will be long-lasting.

One of the pleasant side-effects (second only to improved hand hygiene and sneezing etiquette!) has been the change to how we work. Anyone who doesn’t physically need to be in the office or the worksite has been forced to work from home. Some of us have loved it; others can’t wait to escape the kids – er, I mean get back in the office. But the upshot, as we tentatively head back to a new normal, is that our eyes – and that of our employers – have been opened to the working-from-home option on a more permanent basis.

What does this all mean for those considering upsizing their home?

You have an incredible opportunity on a number of levels:

1. Tailor-make a working space at home that best suits your needs. Gone are the tiny “offices”, which were glorified spare rooms fitting a desk and a single bed – now that many of us will spend the majority of our time in a home office, we demand better! Space, natural light, a beautiful aspect – all of these should factor into your upsizing wish-list. (Not to mention positioning your workspace away from noisy family rooms to avoid zoom meeting chaos.)
2. Create your dream home (and dream lifestyle) anywhere! Surely the most revolutionary aspect of working from home is the freedom to forget the commuting nightmare and simply focus on where you and your family want to live. Prefer to move to the outer suburbs so you can get more land for your dollar? No problems. Ready to finally live the sea-change or tree-change dream? Now is the perfect time!
3. Add significant resale value to your home. The working from home phenomenon is here to stay. While many people will still want to reconnect in the office one or two days a week, that still leaves 3-4 days working from home (with some people making a permanent switch to home). This means that buyers will be looking for a great home working space for many years to come. It makes sense to future-proof your home with a fantastically-functional home working space, even if you don’t need it personally right now.

If you’ve been considering upsizing, you can now add ‘create the perfect working-from-home space’ to the list of other dream attributes that you can look forward to achieving. With employers realising how much money they can save on renting office space, working from home will be around long after we have ditched the masks and social distancing.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only. It has been prepared without taking into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, Fairhaven Homes recommends that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and that you seek independent legal, financial, and taxation advice before acting on any information in this article.