We all dream of living in the perfect home. And with so many home improvement programmes on the television and the risk of ‘Insta-interiors envy’ when scrolling through social media, it’s hard not to start imagining what you might be able to do with the space you live in.
Something that might quickly bring you back to reality however are new findings about the cost of home improvement projects at present.
Rapid People has released a new report which shows just how much the cost of home improvement projects have jumped in the past couple of years.
We take a look at what the report shows us, and what to consider if planning on buying your own home in the near future.
What does the Rapid People report show?
Titled Home Improvement Trends Report 2022, Rapid People has explored some of the trends around home improvement that have been prominent over the past couple of years.
According to the report, 49% of residents in the UK made improvements to their home in 2021, while demand for tradespeople for such projects rose by 32%.
Many of these projects involved painting and decorating jobs, as people sought to spruce up their homes. Other projects that were popular in 2021 included creating home offices or home gyms.
As would be expected, the report found many of these projects were instigated because of the amount of time people were spending within their own four walls. Other reasons cited included making it easier to work from home, and to improve the value of a property.
What about costs?
The report contains an interesting section in which tradespeople provided information on their costs. 89% said their costs increased in 2021, and on average this increase was by 15%.
Most prices rises were relatively small, with close to 4 in every 5 tradespeople putting their prices up by less than 20%. Just 3% put their costs up by more than 50%.
However, it is clear that costs have been very much on an upward curve.
Will these rises continue?
The report suggests so.
86% of tradespeople said they expected to be busy in 2022, while 97% of builders and 91% of gas and heating engineers expected their prices to rise in 2022.
Interestingly, the cost of major renovation projects are also set to see a big rise in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic prices.
The report indicated that the cost of a loft conversion and kitchen renovation would be 25% higher, the cost of a general extension 23% higher, and the cost of a bathroom renovation a mammoth 40% higher than these projects would have cost in 2020.
How might this affect house buying plans?
If you are on the lookout for a dream property at the moment, the trends and costs outlined here are worth bearing in mind.
Many people will purchase a ‘fixer-upper’ or a ‘house with potential’, and accept that they will need to invest in renovations in order to achieve the kind of outcome they ultimately want.
If this was the plan that you had in mind, then be sure to factor in the kind of costs and rises that are being talked about in this report from Rapid People.
Such renovation costs should be considered as part of your overall budget, At the very least, it should be accepted that you may need to save up a little more than previously expected in order to carry out the renovations you wish.
As with any property purchase, having a clear understanding of what kind of costs you are looking at from the outset, and factoring in any additional projects you may want to proceed with, is wise.
