Opinion: COVID-19, telecommuting and how we build homes

In case you didn’t know, the world is still in the throes of an unprecedented global pandemic. COVID-19 has fundamentally changed every aspect of our known lives and every industry imaginable.

I was surprised how many of my clients chose to build a new home in the immediate wake of the pandemic. I expected people to be hesitant to jump into any level of change – but no, my clients were eager to build.

For years, the demand for high-quality, single-family housing at an affordable price has driven market trends, and that remains true. Space is a huge priority to families. That, combined with a shortage of homes on the market, leads people to build their homes instead. Springfield may not have many open lots for building, but areas around the city do and people are increasingly making the decision to live outside of the city because of building opportunities.

This abundance in land coupled with low interest rates was attractive to families who had been considering building a home, so the months between March and September looked like an ideal time to build in the Springfield area. According to Reuters, in May 2020, nationwide home building increased by 17%, and the Midwest accounted for a large number of those buildings.

However, something several families do not consider is the growing price of building materials. The price of supplies is increasing all the time, and because of COVID-19, manufacturing slowed down and caused delays in delivery, which further increased the cost of building.

Still, building is a priority to many families. The level of customization is the most attractive element to most of my clients. I have seen people build what seem like small-grade resorts, complete with their own spa, gym and bowling alleys.

These days, however, a home office is the central piece of more new home builds.

When lockdown went into effect back in March, we collectively had to restructure our offices, our schools and, yes, even our homes. Many workers had to stop to carve a workspace from among their normal lives.

Kitchen tables became desks, stacks of books became laptop stands and closets became offices – which have since been nicknamed “cloffices.” As a result, single-family home builders simply want a space with capacity to support their careers and home lives. They want a quiet office with good lighting, a presentable background for Zoom calls and a door they can close at the end of the day when their work is done.

While the transition to a work-from-home-friendly company is intimidating to some executives, remote work is actually good news for employers. There are myriad benefits to allowing employees to work from home. According to Global Workplace Analytics, employers can save an average of $11,000 per half-time telecommuter per year. They see lower real estate costs, higher employee satisfaction and can enjoy a wider pool of applicants when hiring.

As far as nationwide trends, multifamily developers are reporting more demand for public workspaces in their plans. That means young professionals who work from home will have space outside of their apartments to get work done, but it also could bring about security challenges related to using public Wi-Fi and working around strangers. Regardless, this is a massive trend that indicates that working from home is not just a fad – builders are hearing that tenants are looking for a work-life balance in their homes.

Business owners are well accustomed to paying attention to public sentiment. Likewise, they should do the same for their employees. Business owners and HR managers should keep their ears open and pay diligent attention to what is happening in the home building industry, as many people are predicting that working from home will not disappear anytime soon. The trend in home office add-ons is just one indicator of that sentiment. In fact, people may even grow more accustomed to being able to work from home as quarantine continues.

Debbie Bills is a vice president/consumer lending sales manager for Arvest Bank in Springfield. She can be reached at dbills@arvest.com.