House prices may have been going up and down during the pandemic, but many British Asians did end up finding their new dream home in the last 20 months. Some realised the importance of having more space and essentially home offices due to work from home or hybrid culture; others grew in size as a family and realised that a more sustainable and spacious set-up would be key to surviving any kind of situation in the future.
Asian Voice spoke to new homeowners to understand the change in their needs, buying experiences and the criteria to select a comfortable home.
Sumit Srivastava who works for a top Indian information technology company in the UK bought a brand new house during the pandemic. He lives in Reading with his wife and a one-year-old daughter. He said that because of the pandemic, there was a shortage of supply of raw materials. “Especially for the UK, Brexit and the pandemic coming together did not help at all,” Sumit told Asian Voice.
While searching for his new home, he physically visited over 100 homes and realised that the demand for old homes as compared to new homes was also equally high. He directly wrote to the CEO of the real estate firm who assigned a senior level associate to help Srivastava find his perfect home, which made his search much better.
While looking for a new house, the Reading-based professional he and his wife were sure that they wanted a 3 - 5 bedroom house which would also have a separate study space (office space) and coordinates that would make sure ample amount of sunlight came into the house. Most people according to him now utilise their garage space as an in-house gym or office, while they park the car in the driveway.
“Both my wife and I are working professionals, and our daughter also needs her own playroom, so a four-bedroom set-up worked best for us. We have a backyard along with a space we’ve designed in a way that is separate from our living room, and more like our living space with a couch and TV. When the UK is lucky enough to get sunlight, this area will be sunbathed. So we did our math.
“Getting the sunlight inside the house was imperative. In winters at 2 degrees we cannot go out to soak the Sun, so we have chosen a place where the garden will receive sunlight and we can be indoors.
“This place has a fair mix of British and Indian population, so that was comforting for us. Old houses tend to have a larger courtyard because some of them are from the 1920s, and also have a front yard, but then we realised that the houses we liked were already quite expensive and on top of it you’d have to put in money for renovation,” he told the newsweekly.
He believes that the vibe of a new home is different. It is spic and span and you don’t need to worry about anything. “Some friends who have bought old homes have spent £5000 fixing old gas pipes. So we were more inclined to buy a new home,” he added.
The price that Sumit Srivastava paid for his house was £100,000 above the budget he initially had in mind, but the layout of the house makes each penny worth spending for him. “I wouldn’t say it’s a fabulous deal but I can’t say that I have been looted either!” he told us.
His house is five miles away from Shinfield which is a growing locality, and there are many new houses around as well as a new Hollywood studio that’s coming up. So Srivastava expects an appreciation in the price of the properties in the area because of the promising developments around.
Debasree Ghosh, a creative professional at a leading global advertising agency is moving into her new plush four-bedroom home within London along with her husband, two young daughters and two dogs.
While looking for a suitable property, for Debasree, the non-negotiable rule was to at least have four beds and outside space. She wanted to make sure that it wasn’t on a busy road.
Speaking to Asian Voice, she categorically mentioned, “We have room for a home office,” which was another important requirement while she was looking to move. For Ghosh, she said that the price she and her husband paid for the property was justified considering the area. However, it was slightly under budget.
Much like the Reading-based professional, Ghosh also believes that the house prices in her new residential area are likely to go up eventually. When asked what she does in order to practice sustainable living methods at home, Debasree said, “I'm Indian. Reuse and recycle is a way of living for us.”
