Home Sweet Home: How COVID Reshaped Our Sense of Place

Shelter in place didn’t mean “at your house” for some Americans. According to a recent Ipsos U.S. Omnibus survey, 11% of Americans stayed elsewhere for an extended period of time – such as a vacation rental, a second home, or with family or friends.

During the pandemic, almost one-fifth of Americans relocated/moved to a new home – and their reasons for doing so including financial drivers, to be close to family, accommodate pets, increase inside space, access to outdoor space and moving to a different state (based on their restrictions).

Download our detailed Thought Starter for insights into how Americans feel their homes met their needs during the pandemic. This valuable information allows marketers and manufacturers to identify new ways to optimize product packaging, messaging, or identify growth with potential product extensions.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything, especially our time spent at home. Normally, we think of home as a place to eat, relax, sleep or work on household chores. For the past year, we don’t necessarily “come” home, but move from remote working, e-learning or Zoom meetups, depending on the time of day.

Ipsos eNation Omnibus decided to take a closer look at how Americans feel about their homes during the pandemic. We explore how well the place we lay our heads at night is meeting all our needs during this extraordinary time.

Fortunately, the housing market experienced unexpected highs this past year once we passed the initial phase of the pandemic. A new Zillow analysis indicates the combined value of 2020 U.S. housing stock rose by about $2.5 trillion in value, the most in a single year since 2005. And while Zillow expects 2021 to be even stronger, foreclosures are expected to spike once the Federal Housing Finance Agency foreclosure moratorium ends. But we want to put aside all the industry numbers and see how Americans think their homes fit today’s COVID-19 lifestyle.

Home is good

Thankfully, we discovered the vast majority of Americans (93%) feel their current living arrangement works well for them given the coronavirus pandemic. Not surprisingly, younger households are less likely to agree (89%), although there was no significant difference between households with or without children.

Overall, nearly one in five (18%) U.S. households indicated they moved during the past year. As would be expected, those aged 18 – 34 were significantly more likely (35%) to say they moved since the start of the pandemic.

Among U.S. households who did move in the past 12 months, just under half of them indicate the pandemic played either a major (29%) or minor (17%) role in their decision to move. Finances were the No. 1 reason given for moving due to the circumstances brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Getting away is nice

Many Americans have been taking advantage of travel or relocating for a period of time since remote work has become a norm for many offices. Overall, 11% said they have stayed at another location in the past year for reasons brought on by the pandemic. As expected, those between 18 and 34 years of age are most likely (21%) to have visited a different location in past year.

During this unsettling time, over half (53%) of those who stayed somewhere different due to COVID-19 looked to family for visiting or an extended stay. Among those lucky enough to own a second home, the past year allowed them to take advantage of staying at a different spot.

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2021, Americans appear to have similar expectations for making a move or taking an extended visit due to COVID-19. Now that we are used to this new environment, it appears that slightly fewer people will think of visiting another location due to the pandemic during 2021.

Only 7% of Americans feel their homes do not meet their needs for reasons brought on by COVID-19. Thankfully, it appears visiting family helped fill some of that need for those who may have required a different living arrangement. With that being said, we also discovered that having a little more room never hurts. When asked, most (71%) of us would choose to have extra space at home over the opportunity of an extended stay in another location for a month this year (29%).

We like working from home

One of the big questions many are asking entails how the American workforce will handle returning to their offices. If Americans had their preference, most lean toward working from home full time or at least some of the time.

Why Ipsos eNation Omnibus

Want to learn more about how Americans feel? Try Ipsos eNation Omnibus. One of the most important aspects of marketing is knowing your audience. The Ipsos eNation Omnibus is the ideal marketing tool because it can quickly measure public opinion and consumer attitudes about any topic, any time. Our rapidresponse research is affordable, efficient, accurate, flexible and includes overnight and custom study options. These actionable Ipsos insights can be incorporated into your marketing strategy immediately.

Our Homes During Covid Times Study provides details on how Americans feel their homes meet their needs during the pandemic and if they are leaving for an extended period of time to visit other locations. This valuable information allows you to optimize messaging on an infinite number of products and categories or identify growth with potential product extensions.

If you would like complimentary access to this Our Homes During Covid Times Study, a copy of a past Thought Starter omnibus study, or to learn more about eNation Omnibus, please contact us today.

Ipsos eNation Omnibus Thought Starters still available:

• 2020 Year In Review
• End of Summer
• Coronavirus
• Recycling