As the world adjusts to the realities in a COVID-19 world, tastes and priorities are changing in such a way that families are being compelled to re-evaluate and reconsider their accommodation needs.
Besides shrinking wallets that have affected consumer purchasing power and preferences, the observance of the COVID-19 safety protocols are playing a big role in determining the choices families have to make as they relate to living, working and playing.
This explains why more families are, increasingly, becoming more intentional about the quality and price of their homes as they continue to spend more time working and playing from home. Affordability is a major consideration for what to buy and where to live.
“We will definitely see an increase in transactions for single family homes as younger families and some retirees move to less expensive suburbs and outskirts,” Udo Okonjo, CEO, Fine & Country West Africa, confirmed to BusinessDay.
The reason for this, Okonjo explained, is because more people now enjoy the flexibility of remote work and no longer see the need to commute relentlessly, subjecting themselves to environmental and health hazards.
The implication of this is that a new vista has opened for investors. It calls for investors to rethink and refocus their offering to reflect market realities. “As investors, we should always listen to what the market is saying and to understand what it wants with a view to addressing the need,” Obi Nwogugu, head, Real Estate at African Capital Alliance (ACA), said.
The 17-floor Blue Water Lagos, according to Nwogugu, is their response to market realities. The first phase of the project, a joint venture between ACA and Elalan Group, is a 124-unit edifice comprising 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments.
“Almost all the units are sold out. We have just a few units left and that underscores the level of demand in the market for family unit apartments,” Nwogugu disclosed to our correspondent during a tour of the project.
Okonjo also sees high rise properties in central location with for multi-residents type living recording increase in demand, especially those of them with proptech-enabled service delivery.
These are properties with contactless-everything to reduce the risk of contact and contamination in high density residences. In addition, residential spaces that take into account new living realities and preferences of home buyers, tenants and investors with more intelligence will remain relevant.
“Customisation and flexibility, especially for high end luxury developments, will become even more realistic as a success strategy,” the realtor assured.
On the flipside, commercial spaces will continue to be the hardest hit, even when retail and hospitality are beginning to bounce back. The market requires new office configurations for emerging flexible work -remote trends, while tenant landlord collaboration will become more important to retain good quality tenants and maintain occupancy.
This means that suppliers of office space have to be more creative and innovative in their offering. Also, they have to embrace technology more than ever before.
Similarly, realtors including brokers and agents need to get on with the times by upgrading the outlook for client viewings to virtual more digitally driven than physical at least for the most part.
Convenience and technology-enabled interactions across board including remote closings and digital contracts signing will most likely play a huge impact in dealing with clients going forward.
