The high demand and a shortage of available properties are supporting a rise in house prices. Asking prices for homes coming on to the market in Britain rose by a record 2.3% in February, according to Rightmove and moving is expensive – so Brits are turning to their own homes to make it suitable for their needs.
Instead of moving, many are planning to create more space within the next year. Attic Self Storage found that the average Brit is looking to spend £5,084 on home improvements in the next year.
Respondents aged 35 to 55 are likely to splurge the most, at an average of £6,482. People from Oxford are keen to spend the most at £9,443 per person.
Brits admitted that their top home improvement is making their home bigger (50%). This may be down to 46% of people feeling they do not have enough storage at home, which has left 73% feeling frustrated, stressed, overwhelmed and anxious. Could it be that Brits have too much clutter?
Top five home improvements Brits would like to make
1.Create more space/make the home bigger (50%)
2.Painting and decorating (46%)
3. Spruce up the garden or outside area (36%)
4.Create more storage (31%)
5.Make the home function better (19%)
Despite the lack of space, many Brits still want to make their homes multi-functional and would consider converting their storage spaces.
One in five (20%) would consider converting the shed or attic into a hobby room; 16% would convert their attic or garage into a game room; and 16% would convert their attic or garage into a home cinema.
Retrospectively, nearly half (48%) of Brits have made changes to their homes in the last two years. The most popular improvements were converting a room or a cupboard into an office and transforming a corner into a reading nook.
The self-storage company carried out the survey of 2,000 Brits in Feb to find out how Brits have changed their homes due to the pandemic, and are going to continue doing so to create more space as well as make it multi-functional.
CEO of Attic Self Storage, Frederic de Ryckman de Betz, said: “Our research shows the way we live, work and relax has changed over the past few years due to the pandemic, and our homes have continued to reflect that.
“In particular, Brits are desperate for storage, especially with the limited space in the capital. However, people are still considering investing time and money into transforming their spaces so that they’re multi-functional and can be used to live and work in ease and comfort.”
