Property owners want to inject value into their homes by undertaking the right home improvements.
Britons continue to look at home improvements to add value in their homes, the latest research from the annual Halifax Home Improvement Survey reveals.

A quarter of homeowners (28%) are planning to undertake home improvements in the next twelve months as house prices flatten.

Almost half (44%) believe these home improvements will add up to £5,000 to the value of their property, with more than one in ten (12%) believing the increase will be between £10-£25,000.

Key findings

The most popular home improvements – redecorating (71%); garden improvements (35%); new furnishings (33%); new carpets (25%); laminate/wood flooring (22%), new bathroom (21%);

Green improvements on the agenda – almost one in five (17%) introduced energy efficiency measures into their homes as the environment acquires a growing importance;

Trend in young developers strengthens – first time buyers and younger people are more and more involved in home improvements with almost three quarters (74%) of 18-34 claiming to have carried out home improvements in the last twelve months, up from two-thirds (68%) last year;

Diy devotees – improving is swiftly becoming a national pastime. Nearly one in six people (14%) claimed to have carried out home improvements just for fun.

Green fingers

One in six green-fingered home improvers estimated that their work in the garden, along with any other home improvements, would have added over £10,000 to the value of their property.

However, for 14% of people, home improvements are less of anMore home improvements are being done by homeowners themselves than in the past. Over a quarter of respondents (26%) got stuck into their home improvements and did all the work themselves.

A further third did so alongside their partners (33%). However, tradesmen remain most people's first port of call with a third of respondents calling upon their services.

More than twice as many men (39%) than women (17%) claimed to have carried out work themselves.

However, for 14% of people, home improvements are less of an investment, and more of a hobby.