Britons are putting personal taste before value-boosting renovations when refurbishing properties, suggesting that they are putting off moving.
With growing numbers of Britons opting to stay in their current properties for the time being, many are carrying out renovations for personal satisfaction rather than with a financial profit in mind, it has been claimed.
According to recent figures released by Sainsbury's, around 45,000 loans for home improvements were taken out over the course of 2008. And while a significant number of borrowers still carry out work on their home in order to boost its market value, many more are undertaking improvements for purely personal reasons.
Jason Orme, editor of Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine, explained: "People are moving away from looking at property as a cash making venture and people are now thinking about improving their homes for themselves. In my opinion this improves the quality of the design and people are willing to spend more money because they think they'll be living there for longer now."
These comments follow a new report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which revealed that the number of homes being sold across the UK has remained relatively flat over the past three months. Rics found that although there has been an increase in property enquiries, estate agents and chartered surveyors have yet to see these expressions of interest translate in to sales.
