Recession Forcing Britons to Do Their Own Renovations
Posted on May 17, 2009
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The crash of the real estate market has dashed the hopes of many Britons who expected to sell their homes this year and move into large properties. The inventory of homes on the market is in excess with foreclosures and the homes that have been languishing on the market for many months.
The real estate market is also suffering from the tighter lending restrictions requiring higher amounts of deposits on loans and the scrapping of the practice of approving mortgages for those with poor credit. House prices have also fallen dramatically so that the value of homes is at the lowest it has been in years meaning that homeowners would not be able to get the price they want for the home.
Homeowners in Britain who had previously planned to put their homes on the market have now decided against it. Most of them have decided to do their own renovations in order to increase the value of the home to make it a better place for them to live and at the same time increase the value of the home so that when the market starts to rebound they can make a sizeable profit on the sale.
According to research done by the Co-operative Bank Mortgages, homeowners are set to buy the materials for do-it-yourself projects in higher numbers than ever before. This is good news for the retailers in this market, many of whom are struggling to keep their businesses afloat in the current economic climate. As a way of drawing in more customers and sales, they have lowered the prices of their goods, making it more attractive for homeowners to buy at this time.
The Co-operative Bank Mortgages estimates that £4.5 billion will be shelled out in home renovation and upgrade projects this spring. The bulk of this spending will occur in London and estimates put the amount at an average of £200 per household in this city alone. Areas to the North East seem to be more conservative in their spending but it is estimated that homeowners here will spend about £116 on renovations.
The majority of homeowners plan to focus on their gardens by spending money upgrading the exterior areas of the home. They are well aware of the role curb appeal plays in selling a home and have decided that this is one area that they can do on their own as they get out in the fresh air. They are, of course, hoping for warm weather and sunshine in order to carry out the projects that they have in mind.
Terry Jordan, head of mortgages at Co-operative Bank, says “With the slowdown in the property market, people are looking to add value and improve their living space.”
There are also other reasons why people have taken to do-it-yourself projects for their home. Even though they are trying to add value, some of them are looking for avenues in which they can relieve some of the boredom they are experiencing, adding on rooms to accommodate a growing family or looking for ways that they can make their homes more environmentally friendly.
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