Uptick in demand for homes with gardens and offices
Working from home because of Covid-19 has increased demand for properties with offices, gardens and patios in Portugal.
The demand for homes with gardens, terraces, patios and home offices has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has boosted teleworking from home and house hunters are looking for properties which have space to reflect this new reality, according to a study from property consultants Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) ‘Remote-work in Portugal’ which notes that demand for properties that offer outdoor spaces and home offices has shot up by around 80%
“A home has become, in addition to a place in which families lives, a place in which people need to have a space to work with the minimum of interruptions.
“So demand for properties with an extra room and an outdoor space out of the necessity to breathe” has increased says Patrícia Barão, head of residential at JLL.
“The house has gained a double importance as a refuge for each. We have noticed that the size and comfort of properties are aspects that are even more highly prized,” adds Miguel Poisson Alves, General Director of Sotheby’s International Realty in Portugal in an interview with ECO online news.
With the market “frozen regarding transactions” due to the “fear that arose at the start of the pandemic” added to the “difficulty of doing virtual property viewings” and the “closure of the borders” Sotheby’s return to normality, as is the market overall, has meant home working has now become the “new normal”.
Discussing the Portuguese economy going back to work from 4 May – after a period of teleworking since 13 March when shops closed – Miguel Poisson Alves says that the restart has been positive for the residential property market which is showing some signs of moving and returning back to normal”.
“National and International demand is increasing daily, despite restrictions on air and land travel. People are again taking decisions for their lives and now place even more importance on their homes and are prepared to pay more to ensure that they have a suitable and comfortable space to wor