Garden and bathroom improvements top the bill as favourites to add value to homes during credit crunch.
A year-long study conducted by Thomson Local showed that the garden and bathroom are clear favourites for homeowners to enhance as they opt to 'improve not move'.

Searches for garden design on thomsonlocal.com increase by 182%, whilst garden centres and nurseries saw a 159% jump.

The surprise result was the massive 231% increase in searches for garden sheds, showing an increased demand for the timber structures.

In the bathroom, re-tiling has seen a boost with a 194% increase in online searches for tile stockists. Bathroom equipment and fittings rose by 69%, whilst bathroom planners and furnishers saw a 65% increase in searches for their services.

Thomson Local product and marketing director Gary Brown, said: "The increase in demand for home improvement services in a relatively short space of time is a simple reflection of the fact that less people are moving house due to the current economic uncertainty."

"That said," he added. "I would not have expected the garden shed to be a high growth area."