Property searchers hunting for home offices en masse, with staggering surge in numbers

The number of home buyers in Victoria and NSW searching for a “home office” as part of their next property purchase has risen for the second time since the coronavirus pandemic began, new data shows.

Prospective buyers were also continuing to look for added extras like a home studio, retreat or a garden or courtyard for extra space, the keyword search data showed.

Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said the surge in searches in Victoria was much more pronounced than those in NSW, as Victoria, and its capital Melbourne, had faced multiple lockdowns over the year in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Victoria’s staggering surge in searches for a “home office” – up 1107 per cent between June and July – coincided with its stage three and four lockdowns as people worked from home. 

By comparison, NSW home office searches rose 17 per cent. The largest increase between in searches between June and July was for “retreat”, up 78 per cent.

NSW keyword searches for amenities offering extra space, which spiked in May, remained higher than normal as the pandemic continued.

Dr Powell said the coronavirus crisis was changing what language searchers were using in property, with a bigger surge in “home office” than “study”, for which searches had dropped in NSW and Victoria.

“It’s interesting to see – it could be the influence of the media and how it’s reported and it could be how we speak to each other that have seen this change,” Dr Powell said. “We are working from home now and are talking to each other about ‘what does your home office look like?'”

While searches for a home office were well up, the search for a granny flat in Victoria was down.

“People have kind of shied away from them,” Dr Powell said. “They used to rent them out via Airbnb but it’s not such a lure now because the rental market is so disrupted.”

Agents say buyers were definitely looking for extra space at any new property, even if it was an apartment.

Marshall White Stonnington director and auctioneer John Bongiorno said a home office and having a home close to a good school were important for buyers.

“Buyers want a fully renovated home now because time is becoming more precious,” Mr Bongiorno said. “They are staying away from the renovation or building new ideas because they want to just step into a house that’s ready to live in.”

Mr Bongiorno said there had also been an emphasis on needing more space outdoors, with buyers in some of Melbourne’s more expensive suburbs looking for a garden, entertaining space or pool.

In the inner city, more buyers were looking to become owner-occupiers rather than investors.

Belle Property Carlton principal director Scott McElroy said buyers were searching for flexible options, with extra space to set up a home office or home schooling area.

“There’s a lot of first-home buyers trying to get in because of the low interest rates [for mortgages],” Mr McElroy said. 

In Melbourne’s outer north, buyers were still looking for extra space, with first-home buyers and upsizers looking for room to breathe, Fletchers Real Estate Eltham director and auctioneer Craig Maskell said.

“Homes with a separate, self-contained area that could be used for that [a home office] are very popular,” he said.

Victoria and NSW’s first lockdown was introduced in late March as coronavirus cases soared across the country. Auctions moved online, with inspections still able to be done one-on-one during the lockdown.

Though some of the measures were eased, in early July a return of cases in large numbers put Melbourne into a tougher stage 3 lockdown.

Two-and-a-half weeks ago, the city was placed into stage four lockdown with auctions and property inspections moved entirely online, banning any in-person sales.

The Victorian government plans to ease stage four restrictions on September 13, if the number of coronavirus cases continues to fall.