Flats/houses in the COVID-19 pandemic era became the central place for living, working, learning, studying and entertainment. According to Maslow's pyramid, all the basic needs had to be satisfied within a single space, which caused a change in the importance of certain locational and physical features of the flat/house. This study aimed to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the perception of the environmental features and the physical features of flats/houses. The research material was obtained from a questionnaire study disseminated through different online channels. The study was conducted in Poland, and citizens' preferences are linked to the prevailing spatial and socio-economic determinants. A group of respondents were presented with 23 features describing the location and 17 features describing the physical features of flats/houses. They were also asked questions about the level of satisfaction with the current location and housing features. The results were analysed, and the statistical significance of the difference in the perception of the location features and the physical features of the flat/house was verified using a Chi-squared test. The results demonstrated a change in the importance of certain attributes concerning both external and internal factors. The physical features of the flat/house appeared to be more important (from the respondents' perspective) than the features related to the location, as most changes occurred in that group. The respondents indicated that access to medical care facilities had gained importance (+8%), while good access to public transport had declined (-9%). For the physical features of flats/houses, respondents from other countries also indicated the importance of other attributes, i.e., the floor area (+12%), number of rooms (+14%), additional rooms (+14%), and access to broadband Internet and digital platforms (+28%). The study showed that over 30% of respondents would change their flats/houses if their financial means permitted.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; changing preferences; external and internal factors of property; housing location.