Housing market spells DIY boom

BRITAIN'S DIY boom looks set to continue as the housing market slows down - prompting people to improve their homes rather than move, according to new research findings.

Market analyst Datamonitor said the lowest loan rates since the 1960s combined with the popularity of DIY TV programmes was driving an increase in home improvements. It said that, during the first six months of 2002, there was an 11 per cent increase in the number of home improvement planning applications and the rise looked set to continue.

The UK DIY market was worth more than £23bn last year, meaning each household spent an average of £900 on home improvements.

Britons borrowed £13.6bn for projects at home through secured and unsecured loans, and Datamonitor expects this figure to rise to £17.6bn by 2006.

Last year DIY was the third most common reason for taking out a loan after debt consolidation and buying a car.

Author of the report Edward Ripley said: "Rapidly increasing house prices have been partially responsible, increasing homeowners' confidence to undertake expensive home improvements and reducing their intentions to move home.

"Cheap finance and the increasing popularity of home improvement and DIY TV shows have also boosted the market and will continue to do so over the next few years."

People living in the south east and the south west are most likely to embark on a major DIY project, with 16 in every 1,000 households applying for home improvement planning permission during 2001.

But in Northern Ireland just 1.5 households in every 1,000 applied for planning permission, while in Scotland only 3.2 in every 1,000 applied.

In Greater London, where just 5.5 households per 1,000 applied for planning permission last year, there has been a 42 per cent rise in applications in the first six months of 2002.

Scotland, Wales and the South of England have also experienced growth of around 20 per cent to 30 per cent but in the north west, Yorkshire and Humberside and the west Midlands there has been a decline.

Building a conservatory was the most popular type of home improvement in 2001, accounting for one in three of all major projects.