A Fresh Look At New Housing After Covid-19

During the first few months of the COVID-19 lockdown where movement was heavily restricted, housing purchases across the country stalled, with individuals unable to attend viewings and estate agents closed. However, with new initiatives launched by the UK government, such as the Green Homes Grant and the stamp duty holiday, and buyers being able to view prospective homes again due to changes in restrictions since May 2020, the market is recovering well to reach pre-lockdown levels of activity as it responds to the pent-up demand for new housing. At Wienerberger, we feel that housebuilders and social housing providers must be aware that customer needs may have changed following the pandemic.

Although it’s difficult to remember now, the period prior to lockdown was fruitful for the housing sector. According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2019 was a landmark year for the industry, with more new homes built than at any point in the previous 11 years. While this is positive news, the industry is still short of hitting the 300,000 new-build housing target. However, moving into the first part of 2020, demand did continue to rise, with a record-number of private housing planning approvals submitted just before the lockdown was announced. What’s more, the market continues to be supported by strong demand for rentals, which according to Rightmove continues to rise year-on-year, with a 22% increase reported in 2020.

These figures cannot be ignored and highlight to those within the housing sector that aggregate demand for housing is likely to still be high. However, in the wake of the pandemic, it’s possible that people will want different things from housing purchases. In turn, this may mean that the sector needs to start prioritising building healthier homes and neighbourhoods. Already, it’s clear that individual preference around housing is changing as a result of the pandemic. In fact, the estate agent, Savills reported that four in ten house buyers are now considering purchasing a countryside home as a direct result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Green Spaces

This trend away from urban developments is being driven by a number of factors. For one, the lockdown period reaffirmed the importance of green spaces within Britain. Whilst compelled to stay inside, individuals were allowed to exercise in parks, or personal gardens. Those who did not have immediate access to either space found themselves disadvantaged compared to others. Therefore, it’s no surprise to hear more people now want to move to the countryside where such spaces are more plentiful. Similarly, the outbreak of the pandemic has increased awareness amongst the British public about how dangerous airborne particles can be. Once again, within this context, increased demand within countryside areas is perfectly logical, with many perceiving air quality in these regions to be better.

Within this climate of heightened awareness, housebuilders and social housing providers must be ready to react and implement new measures, which prioritise occupants' health and wellbeing. Firstly, it’s imperative that green spaces and gardens remain integral to all builds, regardless of location. With the risk of future outbreaks omnipresent, homeowners will increasingly feel obliged to only purchase properties with access, or in close distance to a garden. 

Indoor Living

Similarly, as people are required to remain inside their homes for the majority of the day during lockdown, it also emphasised the importance of having indoor space large enough to comfortably live in. However, a report by the Intergenerational Foundation, highlighted that the number of new-build homes being developed in the UK are below the 37m² minimum national space standards for a one-person, one-bedroom home with a shower. These cramped living conditions are unfortunately likely to have a negative impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing.

With this in mind, housebuilders should look to incorporate building products that can maximise the size of the living space, such as Wienerberger’s Porotherm, a multi-cellular clay block walling system. Due to the superior heat efficiency properties of the block, wall insulation is often not required, which minimises the space between the inner and outer skin and in turn, maximises the internal footprint of the property.

Social Distancing

In the wake of COVID-19, the industry should also look to configure developments in ways that help individuals uphold new guidelines around physically - distanced movement. A recent study by the University College of London found that two-thirds of pavements in London are currently too narrow for people to observe social distancing guidelines. Moving forward, house builders should look to widen pavements, to help people keep safely apart.

Energy Efficiency

Finally , housebuilders should look to prioritise energy efficient building solutions when working on new developments. With lockdowns being imposed throughout the winter months, homeowners are spending much more time at home than normal, which means their energy bills will increase. Although more than 12 million homes in the UK fall below the C grade on Energy Performance Certificates, the new Green Homes Grant was launched in September and will see thousands of homes across the country being entitled to up to £5,000 in vouchers for energy efficiency home improvements, such as double glazing and insulation.

That said, the sector should still look to only build highly energy efficient properties, particularly in the current circumstances.

To do this, housebuilders should consider adopting clay building solutions, which enable attainment of the highest energy efficiency ratings. Due to its excellent heat storage capacity and insulation properties, installing clay building solutions is one way that total energy demand and CO₂ emissions can be reduced. What’s more, at Wienerberger, we manufacture our bricks, clay blocks, roof tiles and pavers using an energy-efficient production process, which saves resources and only uses local, natural clay and water. 

At Wienerberger, we’re here to support our customers as they restart building in a post-COVID landscape. The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with challenges, but as the industry proved through the lockdown period, it’s resilient enough to deal with pressure. During the Great Recession, construction activity fell by 17.1% between the first quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009. However, within a few years the sector had already returned to pre-recession levels of activity. In challenging times, people need greater access to housing, and with the UK still battling to overcome its current housing gap, the role of housebuilders in helping the country to get building again looks set to be even more outsized.

As always, we’ll be on hand to supply developments of all sizes with high-quality building solutions, which help make these new developmental goals more possible to achieve. Whether it be providing high-quality brick pavers to help developers as they widen streets or supplying housebuilders with our innovative full building envelope solutions, which can help to improve home insulation, we’re here to help. In doing so, we’re optimistic we can play a small role in helping the nation as it begins to return to normalcy following this difficult period. You can contact our Archigility team, which consists of architects, designers and special consultants, who will be happy to assist you with your development.