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Latest trends in home improvements
Sarah Modlock
27 April 2006
As a nation, it's clear we are addicted to decorating. In fact, home improvements are a firm favourite as we nest-build our way into spring. But are we just improving our home comfort or adding to the value of our properties?
Wallpaper paste and paint rank highly with DIY-ers according to new research from the Halifax . Redecorating is the nation's most popular home improvement - with three quarters of respondents choosing to revamp their homes. New furnishings are high on the list and particularly popular with younger homeowners who are finally getting their mitts on the resources to replace hand-me-down furniture. New flooring - carpet or laminate - take third and fourth place and fitted kitchens come in fifth.
The study shows that our tastes and needs are changing. The trend in home improvements over the last ten years has shifted away from the 'warmth factor' making central heating, double glazing and insulation lower priorities, probably because many homes already have them. Almost all respondents cited central heating as essential and two thirds feel the same about double glazing. Fitted kitchens are slowly dropping down the list of must-haves.
Why people are carrying out home improvements
Around half of those who took part in the research have carried out some type of home improvements within the last 12 months, with 84% spending as much as £20,000. The most popular reason for making home improvements was to improve the look of the home and almost a quarter say that they did it to improve their standard of living. Surprisingly, just 7% say they made the improvements to add value to their home, while only 2% did it to increase saleability of their property.
The trend of refreshing a property's image over the next 12 months is set to continue as redecorating and new furnishings feature highly amongst home improvement plans, topping the polls at 67% and 36% respectively. Garden improvements also share second place with 36%, followed by a new bathroom at fourth place. A fitted kitchen again fell into fifth place.
Home security was also a key priority amongst two thirds of respondents, compared to only one quarter in 1998 and was extremely important for those aged over 65 at 79%. Off street parking was also considered to be essential with more than half of respondents.
The main features of a house that were considered to be desirable, but were not essential were conservatories and utility room followed by garden improvements. Loft conversions, fitted bedrooms and contemporary fixtures and fittings all fell into fourth place.
Donna Spencer, head of secured lending at Halifax says: 'The continued desire to improve their homes shows that people are taking a responsible attitude towards their properties and enjoying making the most of them. DIY-ers appear to be favouring simple, straight forward, inexpensive home improvements, which add value and update the look of an entire house, without the need for specialised materials or tools.'
DIY finances
But don't be in too much of a hurry to sign up for home improvement finance deals. Alliance & Leicester warns those hunting around for a great deal in DIY superstores to be wary of the expensive ‘point of sale' credit deals offered by many of the major retailers. Opting for this type of finance could mean overpaying if people don't consider the cheaper finance offered by a low-rate personal loan. Many ‘point of sale' finance deals levy interest rates in the double-digits, with some double-glazing companies charging around 20% APR and major kitchen retailers charging almost 15% APR.
'Our obsession with DIY and home improvements is obviously not waning,' says Claire Alvey of Alliance & Leicester. 'Yet, despite the efforts we put into making our homes stylish and picking out the right colour samples, we still aren't putting the same effort into getting a good finance deal. By signing up to retailers' finance deals, consumers could find themselves painted into a corner and heavily out of pocket,' she warns.
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