Appreciating Home, a Year Later

One year later and our world is still healing. From early quarantine craft projects to summer socially distanced time outdoors to family gatherings over Zoom and quiet holidays, our home has provided comfort and safety when nothing else has. There is truly no place like home.Personally and professionally, I believe we’ve all re-learned the value of home. Working in real estate, every day I have the opportunity to see how people's mindset has shifted and how much more they now value their homes and community.While the definition of home is different for everyone, we have consistently seen how drastically different the needs for the functionality of our homes have changed. What was once a dining room is now an office. What was once a guest bedroom is now a homework room. What was once a garage is now a mudroom and a gym.We learned to appreciate the safety and security that a home provides. The hierarchy of needs tells us we need food, water, and shelter at our foundation for motivation and survival. Home is where we go to feel safe from the chaos of the outside world. Before our priorities might have revolved around our social calendar, entertainment or clothes but now home is where our value lies because this is where I feel safe, happy, and secure from the instability of this pandemic.  The value of what is in our home has also changed. Homeowners are spending more time investing in home because they want to feel comfortable and they want to feel safe. Homeowners are spending at an all-time high as we all seek to improve what's ours or claim a piece of the homeownership pie! 40 percent of homeowners claim to have started a new “hobby” involving tools and home improvement. Home additions have increased 52 percent and fencing projects are up 166 percent.Finally, reflecting on the value of home also shows us the importance of family. This definition of family goes beyond those related to you, this includes your friends, your quarantine-pod, your neighbors, and teachers. We’re valuing those who are close to us because we appreciate the comfort of our close relationships in a world where social distancing limits us.The value of home and family has been such a gift and valuable lesson to learn as we approach the one year mark since the pandemic began. We’ve seen how the value of home has increased demand in the housing market as well as an increase in housing prices with an average rise of 10 percent year over year. But more on that later this month!