The head of the real estate company is convinced that the quarantine has irreparably changed the market, everyone will have to adapt

Undoubtedly, changing circumstances will also affect the housing market, but according to experts, those changes should be more positive. Ultimately, they should stimulate the housing market, compel their players to offer more flexible solutions in projects and customer service, in the home sales process, and reinforce already visible trends.

Mindaugas Vanagas, the founder and shareholder of real estate company Citus, says the quarantine could change both residents’ attitude toward houses and the planning of living spaces.

“During the period of universal and surplus consumption, the concept of ‘home’ had lost its original meaning: housing had become a place to spend the night, and work, socialization, and living spaces began to intertwine. The attractiveness of coexistence solutions should not diminish, but a greater segregation of the areas of origin will be necessary. Meanwhile, own housing, as a safe space, should regain its importance, “says M. Vanagas.

During the quarantine, we spent a lot of time at home communicating practically not only for business but also for personal matters, so the home became part of our personality: they were mainly seen on the screen behind us, in photos or personalities. Therefore, as the report says, the interiors of our homes have become a fairly important part of our image, and the growing focus on them is underpinned by the remarkable global demand for home decor products.

Telecommuting: More Often Than Before: How to Adapt a Home to Work

“It just came to our attention then. Several studies and surveys have rated work from home as one of the best tools to motivate employees: it provides the opportunity to individually choose comfortable work hours, adapt to the pace of your efficiency, and create a pleasant work environment. Some companies that have attempted teleworking during quarantine are likely to offer employees the opportunity to choose it also in the future: to increase motivation, reduce costs and ensure safety, “says M. Vanagas .

However, to be efficient at home, it is necessary to separate the work and leisure spaces, and to guarantee comfort and conditions for concentration in the work area, M. Vanagas is convinced. The best option, if possible, is to have a separate room for the work area. If such a possibility does not exist or there is not a great need, the work area can be installed in the corner of the room, on the windowsill, on the balcony or on the terrace. There are plenty of compact and space-saving ideas for the workplace: a wall-mounted or tabletop folding shelf, a wide window sill, a “hidden” desk module in a wall cabinet, or other cabinet furniture. Inspiration Professionals Offer to Find Furniture in Living Rooms or Online

A very attractive workplace option can be borrowed in today’s modern offices: these are “silence booths” that can become an ideal solution for those who have access to it. You already have a desk, electrical outlets, lighting, and storage spaces that can be planned in advance. After work, such a cabin would surely delight little members of the family.

Most work functions are unimaginable without the Internet. If you have a fast wireless connection in your home, great, but evaluating it has become critical. In the world, satellite Internet is actively attacking the strong position of the use of fiber optic or mobile Internet at home. For example, OneWeb or SpaceX intended to cover the entire planet with satellite Internet before quarantine. The first to launch 40 of the 648 satellites in Earth orbit, and the Starlink project led by Elon Musk, is even more ambitious: 12,000 satellites in his vision by the end of this year.

Healthy homes: new functional areas appear, nature becomes an advantage and a patio or balcony is a necessity

“As the perception of the home changes, the need for specific spaces in the home may increase. Opportunities to get closer to nature, spend time, relax and play sports close to home will be sought more frequently. Perhaps even a home gym becomes an advantage, not an empty luxury, but an apartment patio or terrace, almost a necessity. This should give a breakthrough to the concept of healthy housing, the trend of which has been seen in the world before, ”says M. Vanagas.

Some experts believe that you will even need a room that separates the space of the house from the outside and allows you to leave shoes and warm clothes when you return. Health professionals recommend warm clothing, footwear, backpacks, and more. store separately and, if possible, disinfect or sterilize. Jackets, hats, shoes and bags can contain virus particles in the air. In preparation, they can spread in the air and move to other surfaces or even enter our body.

The importance of clean air for the health and autonomy of the home.

Another important thing that can not only help to ensure a constant and comfortable microclimate and temperature, sound insulation when spending a lot of time at home, but is also prepared for major interruptions, such as power or water supply interruptions, according to Vanags are energy efficient and independent buildings. . In Lithuania, the energy efficiency poster continues to grow, but it is not worth thinking about alternative capacities for electricity and heat production in new homes: a solar power plant, a geothermal heat pump, as well as the possibility of having its own drinking water well, etc. Even details like heat reflective window films, various noise barriers can have a significant impact on comfort.

An important attribute of energy efficient and healthy homes is the ventilation system. Mechanical ventilation systems, called recovery, ensure a constant supply of clean, fresh air in the home. They can also slightly adjust the ambient temperature and maintain the moisture balance.

If there is a risk of the virus spreading, it is recommended to ventilate the house even more intensively than usual and not to save money at the expense of health. It is true that, under certain conditions, virus particles, like all other recovery ventilation systems in the air, can be returned to the room. Contamination in the exhaust air flow of the recuperators with rotary heat exchangers can be deposited on the walls of the heat exchanger, from where it can be returned to the room. Meanwhile, such a scenario is not possible if separate flows are used, or some other system that ensures complete separation of the air flows.

It is also important that the ventilation system is individual or with check valves and that air is not mixed between neighbors. Due to this nuance, large public buildings, such as offices, are at increased risk of spreading the virus.

At the beginning of the quarantine, rumors of a possible food shortage were heard. To avoid this scare, you can always make a small nursery on the terrace or balcony, plant vegetables or at least herbs, and if it is more serious, consider installing the Martian Garden in the basement, with all the necessary equipment. In any case, “urban agriculture” is an increasingly popular field in many countries, as it not only guarantees the harvest of its own vegetables and purifies the air, but also helps to calm down, focus and find internal balance.

Home developers and sellers are also adapting: process virtualization and new electronic solutions.

During quarantine, most of the communication was moved to virtual space. Service and goods providers who have been able to successfully use digital techniques have reduced the impact of quarantine on their businesses. Of course, it is difficult to choose and buy purchases like a new home or even a car remotely without inspection, but virtual inspections and online communication with the seller are also relevant when selling or buying a home, although the Direct contact remains important at all times.

In Lithuania, especially in the larger cities, where the property market is very active, it is quite common to buy a home before building it. Therefore, people generally become familiar with future homes by viewing visualizations, other visual material. However, of course, it is very important to inspect the place, inspect the neighborhood and the environment, so most of the time, and during the quarantine, the buyers in Vilnius and Kaunas wanted to do it.

During quarantine, many developers offered every opportunity to access projects virtually, allowing clients to choose their preferred format, access project information and images. On the other hand, Lithuania is not so big that it has to fly from one country to another, as in the United States, where the risk of infection is increasing and restrictions have been reduced after a long time. This makes it much easier to get to a place and look around, for example, in the same city.

“Similarly with the conclusion of contracts: housing can be reserved and a reservation contract can be concluded without direct contact. For this, all the necessary conditions are met: there are many electronic forms of signing. The most commonly used electronic form to sign Preliminary reservations or home purchase agreements during quarantine will continue to be actively used in the future. The next stage, electronic notary contracts, is a very distant future so far. Also, the contracts themselves are changing. As the scales of Real estate market moves towards buyers, as they gain more bargaining power, home sellers should make the buying process as convenient and flexible as possible Future prospects have the opportunity to choose smaller contributions or their division “says M. Vanagas, the founder of the real estate company.