Homeowners spending more on home improvements
More home-owners than ever are choosing a lick of paint and new wallpaper to improve their home, according to research from the Halifax.
Not only are more than half of all home-owners (56%) carrying out some form of improvements on their property, but they are spending more, shelling out on average over £1,000 more than last year, to a total spend of £6,362, over the last 12 months.
The humble paint brush remains the preferred option for home-owners eager to improve with almost two thirds of home improvers choosing to revamp their homes with a new coat of paint and wallpaper (65%).
Garden improvements, although down by 2 per cent to 37 per cent, remain the second most favoured work on the home. This is closely followed by new furnishings showing a large increase year on from 20 per cent to 31 per cent. New carpets, and new bathrooms, follow at 22 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
The main motivations behind home improvements was to improve the look and design of the house (59%, up from 44% in 2009) or update and modernise (52%, up from 38% in 2009).
Cost of home improvements
Looking at the most expensive home improvements, the largest average amount of money was spent on a new kitchen at £6,609. This was followed by new windows and double glazing, at £3,646, and new bathroom at £3,396, whereas home security had the lowest at £864.
Research shows that people that have lived in their house between three and four years had the highest spend on home improvements (£9,481), while amongst those people that have lived in their property for over 10 years had the lowest spend on home improvements (£5,299).
Stephen Noakes, commercial director at Lloyds Banking Group, said: "We have always enjoyed DIY and home improvements remain high on the list. Our research shows that more and more home owners are picking up their brushes and paint and using their creativity to improve their surroundings, particularly in this market where we are seeing less house purchases."