The rising cost of home ownership (taken from our monthly home owner newsletter - free to over 230,000 homeowners every month) click here to subscribe yourself.
We look at how to get the best deals on utilities, travel and food bills in 2008
It seems that everywhere you turn in 2008, there is a cost increase – January has seen energy bills, rail tickets, petrol and even food bills rise, in some cases, by up to 17 per cent. These rising costs are set to increase inflation in the coming months, and with council tax and water rates next on the list, how will families cope with the day-to-day costs of running a home?
We look at ways to reduce the running cost of the average home, from capped utility bills to cheaper fuel options and cashback schemes – as well as simple ways to reduce your energy usage and economise on travel expenses.
Move fast for capped prices
2008 is tipped as the year that the average energy bill will hit £1000 – not a promising start with January only just behind us. Energy providers such as npower and British Gas have already increased prices of gas and electricity by as much as 17 per cent – for the average homeowner this will add £92 to the gas bill and £48 to electricity. Energy providers are blaming the increase on higher wholesale prices of energy, and show no signs of reducing the rates.
For “dual-fuel” customers – who buy both their gas and electricity from one supplier – the average household bill from npower will rise from £908 to £1047. On the same deal from British Gas, dual-fuel bills will rise from £921 to £1051. At the moment you can cap your energy prices with your supplier – but you need to be quick! Some companies are already scrapping their cheapest capped energy deals – Powergen and Scottish & Southern Energy recently withdrew their most competitive fixed tariffs. At the moment, the cheapest deal is British Gas Click 4, which costs around £740 per year for direct-debit customers – £199 cheaper than the average standard deal. Other energy suppliers are offering prices capped until November this year – giving you enough time to make significant savings.
Should I switch?
If you are looking to switch energy suppliers – wait. Not all suppliers have announced price rises yet, but they will follow suit – wait for all the suppliers to announce their hikes and then switch to the best deal. Switching providers is very common, even without such dramatic price increases. In 2006, around 4 million households switched energy provider – 900,000 of these in April alone. It is relatively straightforward and there are many options. You can opt to buy your gas and electricity from the same provider – known as dual-fuel – or have a separate company for each.
Energywatch supplies details of 13 approved price comparison sites on its website – these companies will compare prices from all the energy suppliers to get you the best deal. Most price comparison companies will deal with the new supplier on your behalf and arrange the switch from the old one – this service is also free to the consumer, as the price comparison site receives its fee from the energy company which has won the business.
Switching supplier is worth doing – the latest research from industry regulator Ofgem states that households changing energy supplier for the first time save around £100 per year.
What if I don’t want to switch?
If you have been with the same energy provider for years, or it is the one you inherited with your house, you are in the best position to get a good price without switching. Chances are you are on the company’s highest tariff, left there from years before. You could negotiate a cheaper deal based on your circumstances and take advantage of the new tariffs your energy supplier has to offer.
Changing the way you pay your bills can also make you huge savings. If you pay by direct-debit instead of paying cash or cheque, this can reduce your annual fuel bill by around £40, according to Energywatch. Another easy way to reduce your energy bills is to slightly reduce your usage – it really can make a difference. Try not to leave appliances on standby, switch off lights when you leave a room and use your washing machine at a lower temperature. Turning your heating down by just one degree will also save you £10 a year – and you won’t even notice the temperature difference!
Getting out of the house
Away from the household bills, the costs of running a car are also on the up. Families are paying an average of £4 more for petrol than they were one year ago, and fuel has just hit the record price of 103.62p per litre, compared to 88.25p this time last year. It pays to shop around for petrol, even just locally – the difference can be as much as 14p per litre! According to research from the AA, this could save the average family £384 per year on fuel. www.petrolprices.com gives consumers all of the petrol prices within 10 miles of their postcode, so you can decide where best to buy your fuel! To make further fuel savings, you can also use a cashback card to pay for it. The Shell Mastercard will give you a 3 per cent discount on fuel from Shell garages and a 1 per cent discount elsewhere. Capital One’s cashback card gives 4 per cent cashback on fuel in the first three months and 1 per cent after that. This would save you an additional £77.60 per year!
You may think that not owning a car at all would be the cheaper option, but with increasing rail fares as high as 11 per cent, you could be wrong. There are currently no restrictions on fare increases on certain routes, so rail companies are rapidly raising the prices. As long as the average rise across the board does not exceed 4.8 per cent, they are within their rights. Some routes are worse affected than others – predictably the most popular commuter routes to London are suffering the most.
You can get discounts on fares by booking well in advance and taking advantage of certain deals online. Breaking your journey into two halves could also cut the cost – there are “price barriers” at certain points throughout the country and crossing these increases your fare. Breaking your journey into two tickets at the crossover point can as much as half the price! Two single tickets are also often cheaper than one return.
January Blues
It seems that struggling with post-Christmas financial blues is not enough – price increases across the board have given us even more to worry about! Bills, petrol, mortgage payments and insurance have all gone up – council tax and water rates are next – even food prices are on the rise! Staple goods such as eggs and milk have risen 15 per cent in the last year, meat is 7.5 per cent more expensive and bread costs nearly 6 per cent more. Even McDonalds has recently admitted a price hike of 5-6 per cent on some of its products!
A recent poll by The Times newspaper calculated that a family with a £270,000 variable-rate mortgage and one car will have found their average bills increase by £2380 over the past year. Citizens Advice has produced figures showing that thousands of people are struggling – hopefully our advice goes a little way towards helping!
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Did You Know?...Home Improvement Spending in the UK
Did you know?
According to a recent Price Engines Ltd survey, over half of home owners spend between £1,000 and £3,000 each year improving their home, while around 13 per cent spend an impressive £5,000 – proving that the British public has not yet fallen out of love with DIY.
For many of the people surveyed, ‘Home Improvement’ means totally ripping out a whole room and starting from scratch! The concept of Home Improvement has evolved over the years and home owners now save their budget for technologies including solar panels and eco-systems over dado-rails and new shelving. And with such extravagant items becoming more affordable for the everyday consumer, there’s a possibility that Britain is set to spend even more in 2008!
According to a recent Price Engines Ltd survey, over half of home owners spend between £1,000 and £3,000 each year improving their home, while around 13 per cent spend an impressive £5,000 – proving that the British public has not yet fallen out of love with DIY.
For many of the people surveyed, ‘Home Improvement’ means totally ripping out a whole room and starting from scratch! The concept of Home Improvement has evolved over the years and home owners now save their budget for technologies including solar panels and eco-systems over dado-rails and new shelving. And with such extravagant items becoming more affordable for the everyday consumer, there’s a possibility that Britain is set to spend even more in 2008!
Choosing the right conservatory blinds
Choosing the right conservatory blinds - taken from the last Customer Newsletter.
A conservatory is an excellent addition to your home – whether as a dining room, playroom, or simply as a place to relax and look out onto the garden after a hard day, the extra space is always welcome. According to a recent survey by online bank, Egg, a conservatory adds an average of £11,000 to the value of your property – so it is also a worthwhile investment.
However, the reality of using a conservatory all year round is sometimes very different. Conservatories usually suffer from extremes in temperature – the trademark large windows means it is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. Excess sunlight can also make the glare uncomfortable if you’re sitting in the room, and can fade your furniture.
Conservatory blinds can be the solution to all of these problems – they stop the glare from the sun and can be installed in thermal fabrics, which keep the heat out in the summer and trap it inside in the winter. There is a vast array of blinds on offer, all with different fabrics and mechanisms. Here are five easy steps to picking the right ones for your conservatory:
Click here to get an instant online Conservatory Blinds Quote
1 – Choose a style
There are many different types of blinds on offer, to suit any style and structure of conservatory, and most can be adapted to fit both roofs and windows. The most popular blind for conservatories is the pleated variety, which is slim-fit to the glass. These blinds are made-to-measure to fit any window size or shape, which means every window and door can have an individual opening blind. Pleated blinds also retract thinner than any other blind, creating the neatest installation. Pleated blinds can cost anywhere between £595 and £3500, depending on the size and shape of your conservatory. Roller blinds are the simplest operating blinds on offer and are excellent value for money, starting at as little as £400 for the entire room. Venetian and vertical blinds are excellent at eliminating glare, while still allowing light into the room, but are not ideal for conservatories, as they are not easily fitted over opening windows and doors. They are easily damaged by winds and by people using the doors.
2 – Choose a material
Different materials offer different benefits when choosing your conservatory blinds. Most are available in hundreds of colours and designs to match the décor of your home, but some fabrics and materials have special functions, depending on the problems you face in your conservatory. Blackout Energy Saver and Opaque Reflections blinds both reflect sunlight, keeping your conservatory cool during the summer months. Prices start at £595 when used in a pleated blind. If you have problems keeping your conservatory warm in winter, Duette blinds provide a twin-layer of material, which creates a honeycomb effect – the two layers trap air and act as an excellent insulator. A very popular choice in material for conservatory blinds is wood, which looks modern and fresh, but also provides excellent sound-proofing and thermal insulation. Wood blinds are more expensive, starting at around £1200, but they are an investment, as you can re-decorate without having to replace the blinds.
3 – Choose a mechanism
The final thing you need to decide on is how you would like your blinds to operate. You may not think this is a big issue, but the mechanism of your blinds could affect your whole choice. For example, if you would like pleated blinds fitted closely to the glass, you may not be able to fit a side pull-cord operation to the window as well. Pull-cord blinds require a mechanism at the side of the blinds to attach the cord to – so you need to consider whether you have that space. If you don’t, you may want to consider a tensioned blind, which has a handle mechanism attached to the actual window frame. You move the handle to operate the blind and the cord mechanism is all held inside it – wherever you stop the handle, the blind will hang there. If you don’t want any handles or mechanisms visible on either the blind or the window, then automatically operated blinds may be for you. These can be controlled either by a wall-mounted panel or by remote-control, and work on a specially designed, quiet motor. They can also be set to a timer, so that your blinds will be open when you come downstairs in the morning and will close at night, without you having to lift a finger!
4 – Measure up!
Most blind companies will offer a measuring service at an extra charge, but you can usually measure the room yourself, using guidelines provided by the blind company, either in the literature or on the website. Most will give a quotation for blinds based on measurements you provide – for roof blinds this involves measuring the entire width and length of your conservatory. You need to measure the widest width and the longest length – measure inside the conservatory along the floor as this will give the most accurate dimensions. For window blinds, you can also measure the room yourself – just measure the total length of all the sides of the conservatory you require blinds for. Most blind companies will only quote for entire sides of the conservatory and not for just a selection of the windows. Quotes based on your own measurements are valid for 30 days.
5 – The finishing touches
Once you have made your decisions and received at least three quotes to compare prices, you are ready to choose a blind company! They will handle everything from ordering and making to installing your blinds. Blind installation is very quick and, depending on the style of blinds you have ordered, you may even qualify for “perfect-fit” blinds, which are fixed onto pre-measured brackets that just pop into place in minutes! These brackets will usually only fit windows which don’t have large handles obstructing the path of the blind, but extensions are available for small handles which only cause a slight obstruction.
Once your blinds are installed, all that’s left for you to do is sit back and enjoy your new conservatory!
Visit www.blindsquoter.co.uk for more information and an instant online conservatory blinds quote.
Visit www.windowquoter.co.uk for an instant online conservatory quote.
A conservatory is an excellent addition to your home – whether as a dining room, playroom, or simply as a place to relax and look out onto the garden after a hard day, the extra space is always welcome. According to a recent survey by online bank, Egg, a conservatory adds an average of £11,000 to the value of your property – so it is also a worthwhile investment.
However, the reality of using a conservatory all year round is sometimes very different. Conservatories usually suffer from extremes in temperature – the trademark large windows means it is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. Excess sunlight can also make the glare uncomfortable if you’re sitting in the room, and can fade your furniture.
Conservatory blinds can be the solution to all of these problems – they stop the glare from the sun and can be installed in thermal fabrics, which keep the heat out in the summer and trap it inside in the winter. There is a vast array of blinds on offer, all with different fabrics and mechanisms. Here are five easy steps to picking the right ones for your conservatory:
Click here to get an instant online Conservatory Blinds Quote
1 – Choose a style
There are many different types of blinds on offer, to suit any style and structure of conservatory, and most can be adapted to fit both roofs and windows. The most popular blind for conservatories is the pleated variety, which is slim-fit to the glass. These blinds are made-to-measure to fit any window size or shape, which means every window and door can have an individual opening blind. Pleated blinds also retract thinner than any other blind, creating the neatest installation. Pleated blinds can cost anywhere between £595 and £3500, depending on the size and shape of your conservatory. Roller blinds are the simplest operating blinds on offer and are excellent value for money, starting at as little as £400 for the entire room. Venetian and vertical blinds are excellent at eliminating glare, while still allowing light into the room, but are not ideal for conservatories, as they are not easily fitted over opening windows and doors. They are easily damaged by winds and by people using the doors.
2 – Choose a material
Different materials offer different benefits when choosing your conservatory blinds. Most are available in hundreds of colours and designs to match the décor of your home, but some fabrics and materials have special functions, depending on the problems you face in your conservatory. Blackout Energy Saver and Opaque Reflections blinds both reflect sunlight, keeping your conservatory cool during the summer months. Prices start at £595 when used in a pleated blind. If you have problems keeping your conservatory warm in winter, Duette blinds provide a twin-layer of material, which creates a honeycomb effect – the two layers trap air and act as an excellent insulator. A very popular choice in material for conservatory blinds is wood, which looks modern and fresh, but also provides excellent sound-proofing and thermal insulation. Wood blinds are more expensive, starting at around £1200, but they are an investment, as you can re-decorate without having to replace the blinds.
3 – Choose a mechanism
The final thing you need to decide on is how you would like your blinds to operate. You may not think this is a big issue, but the mechanism of your blinds could affect your whole choice. For example, if you would like pleated blinds fitted closely to the glass, you may not be able to fit a side pull-cord operation to the window as well. Pull-cord blinds require a mechanism at the side of the blinds to attach the cord to – so you need to consider whether you have that space. If you don’t, you may want to consider a tensioned blind, which has a handle mechanism attached to the actual window frame. You move the handle to operate the blind and the cord mechanism is all held inside it – wherever you stop the handle, the blind will hang there. If you don’t want any handles or mechanisms visible on either the blind or the window, then automatically operated blinds may be for you. These can be controlled either by a wall-mounted panel or by remote-control, and work on a specially designed, quiet motor. They can also be set to a timer, so that your blinds will be open when you come downstairs in the morning and will close at night, without you having to lift a finger!
4 – Measure up!
Most blind companies will offer a measuring service at an extra charge, but you can usually measure the room yourself, using guidelines provided by the blind company, either in the literature or on the website. Most will give a quotation for blinds based on measurements you provide – for roof blinds this involves measuring the entire width and length of your conservatory. You need to measure the widest width and the longest length – measure inside the conservatory along the floor as this will give the most accurate dimensions. For window blinds, you can also measure the room yourself – just measure the total length of all the sides of the conservatory you require blinds for. Most blind companies will only quote for entire sides of the conservatory and not for just a selection of the windows. Quotes based on your own measurements are valid for 30 days.
5 – The finishing touches
Once you have made your decisions and received at least three quotes to compare prices, you are ready to choose a blind company! They will handle everything from ordering and making to installing your blinds. Blind installation is very quick and, depending on the style of blinds you have ordered, you may even qualify for “perfect-fit” blinds, which are fixed onto pre-measured brackets that just pop into place in minutes! These brackets will usually only fit windows which don’t have large handles obstructing the path of the blind, but extensions are available for small handles which only cause a slight obstruction.
Once your blinds are installed, all that’s left for you to do is sit back and enjoy your new conservatory!
Visit www.blindsquoter.co.uk for more information and an instant online conservatory blinds quote.
Visit www.windowquoter.co.uk for an instant online conservatory quote.
Friday, 22 February 2008
Loft Conversion Quoter - instant online loft conversion quotes website service goes live
Loft conversion quotes - now online!
Yes it's true. After the final development stages were completed and online testing, we're very pleased to announce the 'arrival' of our newest home improvement online 'quoter website - Loft Quoter - instant online quotes for your loft conversion.
In keeping with our other online home improvement quote websites, you simply click on your area of the UK map, enter your address details and then type in the dimensions of your home. Select the layout of your existing roof and add options like en-suite bathrooms etc and our clever online technology will give you a 'ball park figure' for the work you've specified.
With more and more home-owners choosing to stay put and expand or build upon what they alreadyhave rather than move home, a loft conversion is becoming an ever increasingly popular option.
However, in the past, many new properties with trussed roofs (modern truss roofs resemble inverted 'W's and make the loft space very complicated to enter and move around in) were unable to have their lofts converted.
New techniques mean that now, even homeowners with newer trussed roofs can still have their lofts converted and our Loft Quoter provides online quotes for these types of roof as well.
So now there really is nothing stopping you. Our online quote service is completely free - you won't be pestered by unwanted door step salesmen and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home.
Visit LoftQuoter now and get your instant online loft conversion quote in minutes.
Yes it's true. After the final development stages were completed and online testing, we're very pleased to announce the 'arrival' of our newest home improvement online 'quoter website - Loft Quoter - instant online quotes for your loft conversion.
In keeping with our other online home improvement quote websites, you simply click on your area of the UK map, enter your address details and then type in the dimensions of your home. Select the layout of your existing roof and add options like en-suite bathrooms etc and our clever online technology will give you a 'ball park figure' for the work you've specified.
With more and more home-owners choosing to stay put and expand or build upon what they alreadyhave rather than move home, a loft conversion is becoming an ever increasingly popular option.
However, in the past, many new properties with trussed roofs (modern truss roofs resemble inverted 'W's and make the loft space very complicated to enter and move around in) were unable to have their lofts converted.
New techniques mean that now, even homeowners with newer trussed roofs can still have their lofts converted and our Loft Quoter provides online quotes for these types of roof as well.
So now there really is nothing stopping you. Our online quote service is completely free - you won't be pestered by unwanted door step salesmen and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home.
Visit LoftQuoter now and get your instant online loft conversion quote in minutes.
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Bathrooms are sanctuaries - escape in our photo feature
Photo Feature Bathrooms are sanctuaries where you are able to unwind and forget about the stresses and strains of the day. For others, the ideal fixtures and fittings are installed in a bid to make every day life flow smoothly.
This month’s featured company is A & A Kitchens and Bathroom Ltd, a manufacturer of tailor-made kitchens and bathrooms. The company is based in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, but also work throughout mainland UK.
Click here to see the full photo feature.
Click here to get an instant online quote for a bathroom.
Timeline - Eco friendly interior design
Timeline - Eco friendly interior design
We all paint, wallpaper, carpet and furnish our homes because we want them to look nice and reflect our personalities, while some take it a step further and revamp their home’s interior whenever a new trend or fashion takes shape. But when you consider the materials, chemical ingredients and pungent smells involved in the process, you can’t help but wonder what it’s doing to the environment – let alone what it’s doing to your health!
Being kind to the environment – and yourself – doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style and fashion when decorating your home. Here, we look at five eco-friendly ways to give your home that all important make-over.
To read the full article - click here
We all paint, wallpaper, carpet and furnish our homes because we want them to look nice and reflect our personalities, while some take it a step further and revamp their home’s interior whenever a new trend or fashion takes shape. But when you consider the materials, chemical ingredients and pungent smells involved in the process, you can’t help but wonder what it’s doing to the environment – let alone what it’s doing to your health!
Being kind to the environment – and yourself – doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style and fashion when decorating your home. Here, we look at five eco-friendly ways to give your home that all important make-over.
To read the full article - click here
News - The Home Improvement trends of 2007 revealed
News... The trends of 2007 revealed
2007 was a year of dramatic highs and lows for home owners – from the ever increasing appeal of the buy-to-let property market, to the added cost of HIPS on three-plus bedroom houses. Even though the rise in house prices has stalled at the end of the year it is still the case that since 1997 the average house price has gone up by around 156 per cent! As a result many home owners have opted for extensions or added new conservatories to their existing property – increasing the value of their home by more than the cost of the build.
Here, we look back over 2007 and take a look at some of the most important DIY and housing events of the year.
Trend One – The Housing Market
There was no way of getting away from the mass of news stories and special reports last year, which focussed on the country’s housing market. Earlier on in 2007, The National Housing Federation predicted that house prices were set to continue rising and the average cost of a house would reach £300,000 by 2012. On the contrary however, December saw the third month of house price falls – signalling that the end of the property boom could be in sight. Similarly, interest rates increased rapidly in a short amount of time and are now slowly coming down again – the market just won’t stay still! As a result, more home owners have taken on extensions, conversions and additions to their existing properties. Loft conversions can add up to 15 per cent onto the value of your home and basement conversions are now also becoming increasingly popular.
For many, HIPs (Home Information Packs) were one of the lows of the 2007 housing market, adding around £300 to the cost of selling home and still some home buyers had to have second surveys done for their mortgage providers. Since September, HIPs have affected even more people, as they became a requirement in homes with just three bedrooms. It’s no wonder so many people are choosing to improve their existing homes or stick to rental properties.
Trend Two – Buy-to-Let Market
Britain’s buy-to-let sector of the housing industry became one of its best assets last year. Rented homes were in great demand throughout 2007 as families and first time buyers struggled to get onto the property ladder. According to The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Buy-to-Let market grew by ten per cent last year, however even the experts are unsure of what is to come in 2008 but there are likely to be good bargains as a number of over-extended developers are forced to sell.
Trend Three – DIY (Do It Yourself) or GSI (Get Someone In)?
According to Halifax, Britain’s love for everything ‘DIY’ has continued to remain strong as mortgage holders endeavour to increase the value of their homes – around a quarter of DIYers do it purely for this reason. The last five years alone has seen a considerable increase in ‘handywomen’ taking part in home improvements and Tesco sold 21,000 pink toolkits kits last Christmas!
However, at the same time, the number of home owners giving up DIY in favour of GSI – Getting Someone In – is on the increase. Many of today’s young professionals wouldn’t know a spanner from a wrench, so instead of getting out our tool boxes, many of us are getting out the Yellow Pages, which has had a positive impact on the country’s tradesmen. Contemporary kitchens and luxury bathroom suites not only boost the value of a house but provide up-to-the-minute features that almost every home owner wants – so while home improvement is as strong as ever, the ways in which we are choosing to do it are changing. However, DIY – or GSI – home improvements don’t just improve the aesthetics of a property.
Trend Four – It’s what’s inside that counts
‘Eco-friendly homes’ have possibly been one of the hottest topics of the home improvement year as the Government steps up its attempts to reduce our carbon footprint – and the biggest carbon-offender of all is what goes on inside your home, especially as 60 per cent of the rubbish you throw away can be recycled!
An award winning five-bedroom eco-home on a brownfield site in Lewes, East Sussex – which included underfloor heating and lamb’s wool insulation – cost just £340,000 to build but was sold in 2007 for £865,000 proving that green homes are worth that extra effort! So while some home owners chose to go to great lengths to make their houses eco-friendly, the majority of us are simply encouraged to switch our lights off when we leave a room or add a simple controller to our central heating system, so that it only heats the rooms we are using.
Another big focus of the year, with a much less environmentally conscious theme, was interior decoration. According to Designtalk, pink, green and brown were the trendy colours of 2007 and black and white Japanese themed rooms have also become a big hit.
Trend Five – The Great Outdoors
Garden improvements are now the nation’s second favourite property improvement, according to Halifax, just behind redecorating and an increasing number of 18-24 year olds are getting green-fingers. Decking areas have become especially popular with younger home owners and Britons spend on average £180 each year sprucing up their gardens – however those who like to keep up with the Jones’ ended up spending ten times as much last year on such luxuries as landscaped gardens and driveway turntables.
2007 saw the peak of housing prices as well as the beginning of what is predicted to be the end of the property boom – which pushed so many young buyers and families off the property ladder. Hopefully 2008 will be a much more settled year for existing home owners and eager first-time buyers.
Visit Home Improvement Quotes and choose from a range of instant online quotes.
2007 was a year of dramatic highs and lows for home owners – from the ever increasing appeal of the buy-to-let property market, to the added cost of HIPS on three-plus bedroom houses. Even though the rise in house prices has stalled at the end of the year it is still the case that since 1997 the average house price has gone up by around 156 per cent! As a result many home owners have opted for extensions or added new conservatories to their existing property – increasing the value of their home by more than the cost of the build.
Here, we look back over 2007 and take a look at some of the most important DIY and housing events of the year.
Trend One – The Housing Market
There was no way of getting away from the mass of news stories and special reports last year, which focussed on the country’s housing market. Earlier on in 2007, The National Housing Federation predicted that house prices were set to continue rising and the average cost of a house would reach £300,000 by 2012. On the contrary however, December saw the third month of house price falls – signalling that the end of the property boom could be in sight. Similarly, interest rates increased rapidly in a short amount of time and are now slowly coming down again – the market just won’t stay still! As a result, more home owners have taken on extensions, conversions and additions to their existing properties. Loft conversions can add up to 15 per cent onto the value of your home and basement conversions are now also becoming increasingly popular.
For many, HIPs (Home Information Packs) were one of the lows of the 2007 housing market, adding around £300 to the cost of selling home and still some home buyers had to have second surveys done for their mortgage providers. Since September, HIPs have affected even more people, as they became a requirement in homes with just three bedrooms. It’s no wonder so many people are choosing to improve their existing homes or stick to rental properties.
Trend Two – Buy-to-Let Market
Britain’s buy-to-let sector of the housing industry became one of its best assets last year. Rented homes were in great demand throughout 2007 as families and first time buyers struggled to get onto the property ladder. According to The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Buy-to-Let market grew by ten per cent last year, however even the experts are unsure of what is to come in 2008 but there are likely to be good bargains as a number of over-extended developers are forced to sell.
Trend Three – DIY (Do It Yourself) or GSI (Get Someone In)?
According to Halifax, Britain’s love for everything ‘DIY’ has continued to remain strong as mortgage holders endeavour to increase the value of their homes – around a quarter of DIYers do it purely for this reason. The last five years alone has seen a considerable increase in ‘handywomen’ taking part in home improvements and Tesco sold 21,000 pink toolkits kits last Christmas!
However, at the same time, the number of home owners giving up DIY in favour of GSI – Getting Someone In – is on the increase. Many of today’s young professionals wouldn’t know a spanner from a wrench, so instead of getting out our tool boxes, many of us are getting out the Yellow Pages, which has had a positive impact on the country’s tradesmen. Contemporary kitchens and luxury bathroom suites not only boost the value of a house but provide up-to-the-minute features that almost every home owner wants – so while home improvement is as strong as ever, the ways in which we are choosing to do it are changing. However, DIY – or GSI – home improvements don’t just improve the aesthetics of a property.
Trend Four – It’s what’s inside that counts
‘Eco-friendly homes’ have possibly been one of the hottest topics of the home improvement year as the Government steps up its attempts to reduce our carbon footprint – and the biggest carbon-offender of all is what goes on inside your home, especially as 60 per cent of the rubbish you throw away can be recycled!
An award winning five-bedroom eco-home on a brownfield site in Lewes, East Sussex – which included underfloor heating and lamb’s wool insulation – cost just £340,000 to build but was sold in 2007 for £865,000 proving that green homes are worth that extra effort! So while some home owners chose to go to great lengths to make their houses eco-friendly, the majority of us are simply encouraged to switch our lights off when we leave a room or add a simple controller to our central heating system, so that it only heats the rooms we are using.
Another big focus of the year, with a much less environmentally conscious theme, was interior decoration. According to Designtalk, pink, green and brown were the trendy colours of 2007 and black and white Japanese themed rooms have also become a big hit.
Trend Five – The Great Outdoors
Garden improvements are now the nation’s second favourite property improvement, according to Halifax, just behind redecorating and an increasing number of 18-24 year olds are getting green-fingers. Decking areas have become especially popular with younger home owners and Britons spend on average £180 each year sprucing up their gardens – however those who like to keep up with the Jones’ ended up spending ten times as much last year on such luxuries as landscaped gardens and driveway turntables.
2007 saw the peak of housing prices as well as the beginning of what is predicted to be the end of the property boom – which pushed so many young buyers and families off the property ladder. Hopefully 2008 will be a much more settled year for existing home owners and eager first-time buyers.
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