Forty-four percent of respondents to a Sears Home Services survey of 1,000 people said they are less satisfied with their home since the beginning of the pandemic.
“There’s a sense of feeling ‘trapped’ when it’s required to remain inside; we’re missing the venues we used to frequent and perhaps noticing flaws of the home while spending more time there,” the survey notes.
Households with children all living in smaller spaces are more likely to be linked to owners’ dissatisfaction.
Homeowners with children were 10 percentage points more likely to say they felt less satisfied with their home than those without.
Also, homeowners with only one or two bedrooms were more likely to report being unsatisfied with their homes.
The growing dissatisfaction among homeowners after being hunkered down may be a big factor behind the surging housing market.
Contract signings on homes surged to a record high in August and are now 24% higher than a year ago, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday.
Survey respondents said the four top features they most want to add to their homes are a home gym (41%), home office (37%), gaming space (32%), and kitchen space (31%).
Source: “Making a House a Home in the Time of COVID-19,” Sears Home Services (September 2020).
44% of owners dissatisfied with home since pandemic
