It’s a fact, homebuyers want a home office. It’s certainly one of the must-haves in today’s property market. And if there isn’t one, then people want enough space to create their own home office.
With the work from home trend continuing, we look at the data around home offices, internet speeds, and share tips on the best home office spaces. Find out more…

Our homes are still our offices
We look at some statistics from property market intelligence company Dataloft, to highlight the shift in working behaviour.

The data shows that our homes are still our offices.
–           UK workers are going into the office an average of 1.5 days a week.
–           Hybrid working is here to stay. More than 80% of workers said their firms had adopted the hybrid model according to a survey for The Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
–           53% of renters indicated that they would choose a rental property quicker if it was furnished to enable comfortable home working (Property Academy).
–           The UK is widely in line with other countries according to the Advanced Workplace Associates survey which suggests people are coming into the office an average of 1.4 days per week, with North America and Latin America having the lowest attendance.
–           The average number of days spent in an office varies from sector to sector. In the CMI survey, people working in banking were spending most time in the office while those working in tech had the lowest attendance.
Source: Dataloft, BBC News, Advanced Workplace Associates, Chartered Institute of Management, Property Academy

What are homebuyers looking for in a home office?
We are seeing prospective homebuyers most interested in properties with an extra bedroom to accommodate office space. Of course, this very much depends on the buyer’s circumstances. In the case of professional couples, stepping up to a three-bedroom home is often the case. And for families with children, then buyers are looking for four up to five-bedroom homes.
But as well as the extra room for an office, we know buyers like the idea of seeing scope within a property to create their own home office space. This could be through converting outbuildings or garages. There might even be the potential to introduce a summer house style structure to work in, as long as the garden is large enough. Likewise, if there isn’t the room upstairs, house buyers are looking for the potential for working space downstairs. Often a quiet corner in an open plan kitchen diner, or even the lounge can work.

What makes a good home office?
Before rushing into setting up a desk, chair, and laptop, it pays to think of a few important factors when choosing a home office. The first will be the noise level. Is the space quiet enough for you to not only concentrate, but also make and receive calls. How comfortable is the room to work in? If you work from home often, you want the space to be comfortable. If it’s very hot outside, can you create good air flow to stay cool? When the temperatures drop, have you an affordable means to keep warm?
And what is the internet connection like in the room you are in? Sometimes, especially in older properties, the further you are away from the main broadband hub, the worse the connection speeds. We recommend running a test first to check the speeds. If they struggle, then some Wi-Fi boosters in the room or an additional connection might be necessary.

Property broadband speeds matter
If you are selling a property that has ample space for a home office, you’ll need a good internet connection too. It’s a question we always ask our vendors when we put together our home sales packs for interested buyers. “What is the internet connection like?”
We looked at some facts and figures from Dataloft to gauge the average internet performance across Altrincham. Data from May 2019 shows that across the whole of Altrincham as a catchment area (including Broadheath, Timperley, and Hale), the average broadband speed was 98 MBps. When it comes to ultrafast broadband, 68.8% of homes across the Altrincham area have access to ultrafast broadband at speeds of over 300 MBps, as shown below.

Showcase your home office
Gone are the days when selling your property, that you brush over the spare room with a quick, “We only use this room as an office.” Today homebuyers want to see how and where you can work from home. If you have a home office already, then make it look fabulous for the property marketing pictures!
You can do that in several ways. Clear away any clutter, whether that’s papers or folders you have stacked up, or bits of stationery lying around. Let buyers see the size of the desk you have in the room so they can imagine their own in situ. Make the room look a comfortable and inviting space to work in. Add a lamp, a soft throw across the back of the chair, bring in some plants or flowers if you don’t already have them. Some people go so far as having clever bespoke furniture built into nooks and crannies of a room, for working in. While this might cost a lot, it could reap dividends when the time comes to sell your home.

How many people work from home in Altrincham?
Did you know? You can extrapolate data from the national census to find out how many people work from home. Although we had a census last year, not all the data from the 2021 census has been published yet. We have to go back to the last census in 2011 to see how many people worked from home. And at the time of the 2011 census, 6.7% of Altrincham residents worked from home.
While we must wait for the data from the 2021 census, one thing we can expect, is this figure will increase significantly. We’re looking forward to learning by how much!

Are you looking to sell your home and have a home office as a feature? Or maybe there is plenty of scope within your property for a home office or two. Let us help you get your home on the market today and find the right homebuyers. Contact us to find out more or arrange a free valuation.