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Transitioning Through The Pandemic

To say the last 18 months has been life changing is an understatement, with many of us experiencing enormous challenges in the key areas of our life – health, home, family, and work.

The fundamental character of our work/life balance has changed and for many, our values about where we live, the work we do and what we want for our futures have changed too.
 
Property managers have certainly had a difficult time – in many cases taking on the new role of counsellor to tenants facing financial hardship, chief negotiator for landlords who have mortgages to cover, and COVID safety officer when it comes to residential tenancy inspections and maintenance.  
 
Landlords have also taken a hit with many reducing rent for significant periods of times to keep their tenants in accommodation or losing tenants altogether due to job losses or health crises. Additionally, there’s been the extra-ordinary task of taking care of their tenant’s welfare in ways that may not be listed on the lease agreement, but now come with moral obligations – such as making shared spaces COVID safe by trying to enforce social distancing, masks wearing, sanitising, and building check-ins.
 
Tenants have had a particularly hard time of it, especially those in the ‘single income no kids’ demographic. Many have had to spend considerable time alone, in rental properties that were a steppingstone to the next phase of their life. This has also been a challenge for people with partners and kids. Many tenants chose properties to rent that were perfectly suited to their pre-pandemic lifestyle. Now however those properties have turned out to be quite the opposite. This paired with job losses, not being able to pay their rent and the fear of uncertainty and instability has had a significant effect on the mental health of the renting community. 
 
Once touchstones of recovery and respite at either end of our day, our homes have now become our workplaces, gyms, schools, social venues, creative hubs, restaurants, and even battle grounds. On a broader level, there has also been a shift in perspective and priorities resulting from the lived experience of going through the pandemic. People’s values around work/life balance have shifted and as a result, lifestyles tethered to a workplace location and time commitment have become less of a priority. This is probably best evidenced by the exodus of many home buyers from inner city and metropolitan areas to regional locations. There has also been increased FOMO around property investment, as government incentives to encourage new buyers make the property market more accessible than ever before. The urgency in which millennials are now trying to enter the property market is a great example of this.    
  
People’s priorities have changed considerably in the (near) post-COVID world and there is still more change to come as we continue to transition to a new COVID normal version of society. It will be fascinating to learn the true impact the last two years has had on humanity as further behavioural research is conducted and released moving forward. As the saying goes – it ain’t over till it’s over and that may not be anytime soon.