How the pandemic changed the perception of the home environment

According to research conducted by the Center for Real Estate Economics Research for the main Italian cities with a population of more than 500,000 inhabitants: Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Naples and Palermo, studied the impact on the perception of the internal spaces of families.

Three main topics were covered: home appliances in the home, the degree of satisfaction with the home and whether the feeling for real housing, condominium, area and municipality of residence changed after the pandemic and the birth of new needs and desires for change.

Most of the properties inhabited by the families participating in the study are three-room apartments, mainly owned by condominiums in the central or peripheral areas.

According to the respondents: the main disadvantages are the lack of green or open spaces, the lack of a home environment that will be used exclusively for recreation, the need for more bedrooms and bathrooms, indoor fitness spaces.

However, due to these internal constraints, 62.7% of respondents complained that their home does not have a job or the opportunity for distance learning. In terms of technological equipment, 84.7% said they have an Internet connection and 72% of them were satisfied with the quality.

Among technologies at home - a smartphone is the main device for about 80% of respondents who own one or more devices; 62% own at least one computer, about 32% have a tablet, finally, about 30% have a printer and 24.5% have a scanner at home.

Moving on to being satisfied with their home - 62.8% of respondents said they were very happy, and it turned out that 32.6% are very satisfied with the interior spaces, 29.1% have open spaces, 24.3% have bright houses, 24, 7% are satisfied with the location and 33.3% are satisfied with their neighbors. On the other hand, if you look at the negative aspects, then in the same study area, 45.7% are dissatisfied and not happy with the lack of open spaces - 41.9%.

As for the changes that occurred during this period in the assessment of the pandemic , the mood remained unchanged for 62.1%, worsened in 23.1% of cases and improved in 14.8%. If we look at some aspects in detail, then from the point of view of the area, the perception of the house has improved for those who live in independent houses in the suburbs and outside the city, but as for the size, the feeling of those who live in small houses, that is, up to 70 square meters meters, has worsened.

Finally, with regard to the municipality of residence, 48.2% of respondents changed their opinion, in 18.6% of cases the rating improved, and in 29.5% it worsened.

To summarize: with regard to the home, the overwhelming majority of respondents did not change their minds, despite the pandemic; on the other hand, if you look at the municipality of residence, the only case where the percentage of negative reports exceeded the percentage of positive cases with a difference of 11%.