As house prices increase, almost 2m home owners feel they can't afford to move and so have opted to improve their existing home instead.
That's according to the latest research by Lloyds Bank, which also found that making the house look better is the most frequent reason for undertaking home improvements, with 40% of those surveyed saying this was the key driver.

This shows that carrying out work on the house is a decision predominantly made to make a house a home, rather than for financial gain, says Lloyds.

A third of respondents said adding value was a reason for improvements, ahead of making improvements out of necessity - for example to accommodate a growing family (22%).

The study also suggests that 18%, or nearly 6m home owners nationally, have previously bought smaller property than they would have liked as a result of rising house prices. But of those who did, 25% had a view to extending or improving the property to add value, and a further 18% did so to extend and meet their housing needs.

Marc Page, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, said: "Rising house prices are clearly having an impact, with almost one in five buying smaller properties than they would have liked. However, this is giving more people an opportunity to undertake home improvements, whether they are trying to maximise the value of their property, or even make it more sellable in future."

Lloyds says its research shows that over 14m people (44%) have undertaken major work on their current property, or plan to do so within the next year, with those aged between 25 and 34 most likely to undertake redevelopments (27%).