Home improvement is largely consumption that generates little return on investment

IN the days before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, all that many people required of a home was a comfortable bed to get a good night's rest. Weekdays could be filled with long hours spent in offices, followed by meeting friends for meals and drinks or heading to the gym or catching a performance.

Weekends might involve more meet-ups, nature walks and visits to malls. There could be various holidays abroad, comprising short weekend getaways and longer trips to far flung destinations.

In short, many people may not have spent much time at home. But, with the pandemic, habits changed. Working and studying from home, meeting friends virtually, ordering food delivery, doing more shopping online, participating in online gym classes, attending online mass, among others, became new norms.