Media Release
Young professionals and families would rule a property out if there was not a study or at least an area to have one, according to the latest survey by the Real Estate Buyers Agents Association (REBAA).
The survey of Australia’s leading independent buyer’s agents has revealed that while office space was not on the top of buyers’ wish lists it was a definite and growing consideration.
By 2025 millenials will represent 42 percent* of the Australian workforce and statistics show that 62 per cent of this group regard the gig economy as a viable alternative to full-time employment**.
REBAA president Rich Harvey said the demand for properties that can accommodate work spaces had tripled in the last five years.
Mr Harvey said with flexible working conditions a priority for millennials and with the gig economy rising, the demand for properties with extra space for an office would only increase.
“Properties with office space are definitely becoming much more sought after as traffic congestion gets worse and people work from home often one day per week,” he said.
“There are many more consultancy jobs and home based businesses now so it’s not surprising that buyers are going to want a space to work from at home.
As well as reducing congestion and the carbon footprint, working at home also helps workers juggle family priorities.”
Sue Aspinall from PS Property Advisory in Brisbane said the home office space was increasing in demand and was fast becoming an ‘essential’ must have.
“Professionals who do a significant amount of work from home will definitely prioritise this,” she said.
Leigh McConnon from Buyers Advocate in Melbourne said a home office space could add $50,000 to $100,000 to the value of a home depending on where and how the space works.
“We are now also seeing a lot of women working from home juggling both parenting and work commitments, largely driven by the technology industry,” said Mr McConnon.
Henny Stier from OH Property Group in Sydney said demand for home office space was increasing along with the demand for properties with high speed internet access and NBN.
“This is especially true for people who work in the IT sector and require high speed connectivity when they work from home,” she said.
According to the experts the most common trend was for separate office spaces for adults and children.
“Most parents prefer to have an adult office space closed off in a bedroom or elsewhere in the house and a separate children’s workstation to be open and close to the kitchen area as the trend is not to have computers in closed bedrooms for supervision and online safety reasons,” said Ms Stier.
*KPMG Demographics based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics
**Millenial Survey 2018 – Deloitte
