If you are fortunate enough to have a garden, you can relax in comfort, you can enjoy the sunshine, and you can make sure you enjoy the fresh air. You can also exercise without meeting people, which is a great thing for people who want to social distance themselves from others. It is still important people stay safe and protect themselves, which is why a garden is the ideal setting.

Of course, many people don’t have access to a garden, and this means when people move again, a garden is likely to be a leading priority.

Home buyers have long looked for gardens

However, it is not as though this isn’t already the case. For 2019, Zoopla said “garden” was in the top three search terms used by prospective buyers. People want this additional space, and you don’t need to be green-fingered to enjoy a garden area. Whether you wish to socialise, or shut yourself off from the world, having access to a garden is a great comfort in life.

Rightmove have looked at search terms in the rental market recently, and they have found there has been an increase in tenants looking for rental property with a garden. While this hasn’t been seen in the main housing market yet, it won’t be too far away. The rental market moves faster, so changes to search behaviour is likely to be seen their first, but it will become apparent in other areas too.

The industry has noticed the demand for gardens

Miles Shipside is the Commercial Director and Housing Market analyst at Rightmove, and he spoke about the demand for gardens in a rental property.

Miles said; “Having a garden is often a rarity for many rental properties in larger cities, and so it may be that during lockdown people are rethinking their needs and location and are searching for some outdoor space and tranquillity. That allure may draw them further away from where they have habitually lived and travelled to work from, as can be seen by some of the coastal locations that have seen the largest search increases.”

Talking about the lag in the property market, Miles said; “Interestingly we’ve not yet seen this trend mirrored by those looking to buy a home, perhaps as renting is usually a much quicker process and so renters are thinking sooner about what changes they want for their next place.”

It is likely the current situation, and how we deal with the coronavirus pandemic will influence what buyers look for in a home. This means homes with gardens are likely to be in greater demand in the future.

We know many people have questions and queries right now, and we are here to help as best we can. Please get in touch with Austin Property Services if there is anything, we can assist you with.