Working from home trend spurs demand for bigger houses

12 Essential Work from Home Trends & Predictions for 2021/2022

THE Malaysian property market, despite still navigating the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic from last year, is expected to perform better in 2021.

PPC International managing director Datuk Siders Sittampalam says while the pandemic “isn’t going to go away” soon, he is optimistic that the property market will find a way to “work around it.”
PPC International managing director Datuk Siders Sittampalam.

“The fear of the pandemic will not end anytime soon. It will take a while for everyone to go back to their normal live. “With that said, people are going to have to work around it. You can’t expect to be placed under cold storage for too long. Life needs to go on and the real estate segment is the same,” he tells StarBizWeek.

While the vaccine will be available soon, he emphasises that things will not go back to pre-pandemic conditions overnight.

“A sustainable model will need to be put in place for the local property market to work through the pandemic. Eventually, everyone will need to find what works best for them to be able to cope in this challenging environment.”Siders says the concept of working from home (WFH), which has become the norm, could change the mindset of housebuyers going forward.

“The WFH concept has fuelled the demand for properties that don’t just serve as homes, but also working spaces. Gone may be the days where a single bedroom apartment was more than sufficient.

“Now, there will likely be demand for larger properties that can double-up as your office.”

TA Securities, in a recent report, shared a similar sentiment.

“Demand for landed property remains resilient as we saw recent launches at (S P Setia Bhd’s) Alam Impian and Setia Alam achieved commendable take-up rates of more than 90%. Meanwhile, S P Setia sees a pent-up demand for larger homes as remote working options gain traction after the movement control order (MCO).

“Similarly, the trend of opting for bigger space is also observed in Singapore, as we saw a surge in buying interest at Daintree Residence, Singapore. This project was only 30% sold after two years of launch. However, the take-up rate shot up to 90% when the sales gallery reopened after circuit breaker was lifted.”

Despite the implementation of a second MCO, Siders is optimistic that any repercussions on the property sector will not be as bad as the first one that was implemented in March last year.

“I think the market will be better than last year. Activity has not come to a full standstill like the first MCO.

“The sudden shock during the first MCO is not reflected in the current one. Generally, the market will be better than last year,” he says.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank Malaysia managing director Sarkunan Subramaniam says the performance of the residential market is very much dependent on how the economy moves forward.

“The anticipated commercial rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine by the first half of this year will certainly boost the hopes for the country’s economic recovery and lift overall consumer sentiment.

“However, the current ongoing political uncertainties amid the worsening Covid-19 have led property buyers as well as developers to rethink their future plans and strategies. The residential market is expected to remain challenging in the first half of 2021,” he says in a recent statement.

Slight recovery

Sarkunan says the residential market showed a slight recovery post the first MCO last year with selected developers reporting improved bookings, supported by the low interest rate environment and pent-up demand.

“The reintroduction of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), coupled with several stimulus packages as well as the initiatives tabled under Budget 2021, offered a ray of hope for the sluggish residential market.

“However, the recent spike of Covid-19 cases, which led to the implementation of the second MCO, will likely derail market recovery in the short term.”

The government reintroduced the HOC in June last year under the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana). Under the campaign, stamp duty exemption will be provided on the transfer of property and loan agreement for the purchase of homes priced between RM300,000 and RM2.5mil.

Meanwhile, the exemption on the instrument of transfer is limited to the first RM1mil of the home price, while full stamp duty exemption is given on loan agreement effective for sales and purchase agreements signed between June 1 to May 31, 2021.

In addition, the government has announced real property gains tax exemption for Malaysians for the disposal of up to three properties between June 1, 2020 and Dec 31, 2021.

The HOC was kicked off in January 2019 to address the overhang problem in the country.

The campaign, which was initially intended for six months, was extended for a full-year.

Better outlook

The HOC proved successful, having generated total sales of RM23.2bil in 2019, surpassing the government’s initial target of RM17bil.

Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) in a recent report says the local property sector is poised for recovery in 2021, driven by a better economic outlook and historically low interest rate environment, as well as pent-up demand.

“In our view, first half 2021 sales should perform better than the second half,as we expect a spike in sales before the end of the HOC and better political stability during the State of Emergency until Aug 1.”

Maybank IB adds that the imposition of the MCO this year should have a lower damage impact on sales as compared with the first MCO last year.

This is because most developers have acclimated to the “new norm” and accelerated their efforts to market their products via the digital platforms.

“A few developers told us that 50% to 70% of their 2020 sales were derived from the online platforms. Construction works are allowed during the MCO as long as approvals are obtained after registering with the Covid-19 Intelligent Management System and adhering to the standard operating procedure, hence, limiting the impact on first quarter 2021 earnings.”

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Work From Home (WFH) without pain

"The best posture is the next posture,” ergonomic expert Karen Loesing said about how workers can prevent back and neck pain through ergonomics.

This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Work From Home ...

Here are six tips to help avoid the pain that can come from a makeshift home office during this work-from-home ( WFH) period.

MANY of us are currently working from home during the conditional movement control order.

While it is an excellent precaution to avoid catching the SARSCoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 (not to mention other viruses and bacteria), you might find that your makeshift home “office” is causing you pain in your neck, shoulders and back.

Working for extended periods of time at your dining or coffee table is not great for your body and overall health.

Without those adjustable office chairs, you have to be extra conscious of your posture and routine if you want to combat the stress and strain that come from sitting in a compromised position all day long.

Fortunately, there are cheap and creative ways to make your work-from-home set-up more ergonomic.

Stay comfortable and avoid back pain while you work remotely for the foreseeable future with these tips.

Elevate your workstation

At work, your desktop or laptop is at a work station with an adjustable chair.

But at home, working for 40plus hours a week at your dining table can lead to back, shoulder and neck strain.

Laptops are never good ergonomically as the monitor is usually too low.

Ideally, the top of your monitor should be just below you eye level, so that you don’t have to strain your neck while reading.

If you’re working on a reading-intensive task, prop your laptop up on objects (like a stack of books or shoeboxes) so that it’s at your eye level.

You can also invest in an external monitor or a laptop stand.

When you need to type, do lower your laptop to a level that allows your arms to be comfortably bent at 90° angles while doing so.

Work at the appropriate height

The height of your workstation at home should be one that naturally allows your elbows to be at the same level as the table, desk or counter.

This will promote better wrist alignment and help avoid stiffness and stress on the carpal tunnel.

If compulsory working from home stretches on (as appears to be happening), you might want to invest in an appropriate office chair for your home workstation.

You should look for chairs that have adjustable height and back rests, as well as arm rests and good lumbar support.

A wheeled chair will allow you to easily adjust your distance from the computer and move it around

if necessary. The features of a good office chair will save you from much lumbar and neck discomfort, and is worth the investment.

Elevate your feet

Supporting your feet on an elevated surface or stretching your legs creates better blood circulation as you work throughout the day.

Ideally, your hips and knees should form 90° angles when you sit in your chair.

Place your feet on a few books or shoeboxes under your desk, so that your thighs are parallel to the floor and your hips slightly higher than your knees.

This will reduce stress on your lumbar spine.

When you start feeling stiff, move your feet back and forth.

Use the 20/20/20 rule

This rule states that for every 20 minutes spent looking at your computer screen, take 20 seconds to look at something else that is at least 20 feet (6m) away.

This will give your eye muscles a break and reduce eye strain.

Vary your position

It’s crucial to vary your posture throughout the day as sitting in the same position all day long is the quickest way to getting back, neck and shoulder pain.

For some variety, move to different places around the house throughout the day.

Make one spot your main workstation, but also move to a place where you can stand to work, change tables or rooms, or sit on your couch for short periods.

But do not turn your couch into your main workstation!

As tempting as it sounds, the couch is not an optimal place to work at your computer for the entire day.

While it may be comfortable, having your legs or whole body in a horizontal or diagonal position can lead to muscle numbness and discomfort.

Instead, you can make your main workstation more comfortable in several ways.

Placing a thin pillow or cushion on your seat can make a regular chair much more comfortable.

Draping a soft fleece blanket over the back of your chair is also a small thing that can make your chair feel plush.

To reduce lower back pain, add a rolled towel between your chair and lower back for lumbar support.

Take regular breaks

Because we don’t have an official lunch hour while working from home, it’s easy to snack on small things while working throughout the day instead of eating a proper lunch.

Cooking a meal and staying hydrated gives you the opportunity to stand up and allow your eyes to rest from the glare of the computer screen.

Set boundaries so as not to be tempted to work through the night by sticking to your regular work hours or usual number of hours at work.

Most people take breaks to walk around when they’re in the office, but when you’re at home, there may be a tendency to forget to do this and keep going without enough breaks.

Stay active

Set a timer to go off every hour to remind yourself to take a break for three to five minutes.

Walk around, do some basic stretches or take the chance to finish some quick chores like washing the dishes from lunch or folding the laundry.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and a functional medicine practitioner. For further information, email starhealth@ thestar.com. my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

 

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