How the Lockdown Has Presented an Opportunity for Those in the Building Trade

With this extended lockdown still largely in place - now a year after the first lockdown - an interesting new trend has emerged: home-owners are spending more money on their property. Let's take a look at why this is, and also a peak ahead into the future to see what other new trends might emerge from nearly a year of lockdowns.

An increase in spending on home improvements
It's only anecdotal evidence, but many tradespeople are saying that they've never been busier with work on residential properties. Why is that? If you read the news, it's all doom and gloom about the economy. What's going on here? Well, if you can't spend your money on a holiday, in the high street, or attending sports or music events...you're going to look around your house, and think "well, maybe my house could do with some improvements". That's exactly how many people have been thinking during the last year. Moreover, because money in the bank is earning such low interest, many have considered home improvements as putting their savings to work - since improving your home tends to put more value on your property than the actual cost of the improvements. And so as the lockdowns have progressed (and with threats from the government to basically ban holidays until the summer is over!), it makes sense to spend the money on improving your property.

A bright future for tradespeople
While lockdown has decimated many areas of the economy (the high street, hospitality, travel to name a few), it's creating opportunities for other areas. Working from home looks to be a permanent change for many office workers who simply don't need to be at the office five days a week. This means they're using their own home as the office. Where's the opportunity here? Most people want to work in a quiet space that is essentially separated from the rest of the house. They not only need a quiet environment, but a physical separation from "home" and "work". From a home improvement perspective, the opportunity here is that there's likely going to be an uptick in the need for garden offices/rooms, loft renovations and property extensions. Moreover, working from home will be a more affordable solution for these individuals, so they can allocate more budget to these types of home improvements.

As you can see, the extended lockdown has helped those working in the residential sector of various trades, and even after everything gets back to normal...well, certain parts of everyday life will remain permanently changed, and that presents an opportunity for those in the building trade.

Article kindly provided by bosaco.co.uk