With the cost of living skyrocketing and all our bills rising against a backdrop of high inflation and increasing interest rates, the crisis is contributing to a significant fall in the number of people moving home.
The year 2022 saw a decline of 35 per cent in the first six months versus the same time period the previous year, (which was heavily influenced by the Government’s stamp duty holiday at the time). Furthermore, the pandemic changed the way that people work and spend time at home and in 2023 we can continue to see those changes reflected in the renovations prioritised by homeowners.
This driver along with the high costs of both moving home and building materials has lead experts to predict that renovations focused on increasing comfort and functionality in the home will be key this year and beyond. Of course, homeowners are most likely to put the projects that make the most sense for their particular home and family at the top of their lists. Here we look at some of the ways in which homeowners seeking to future-proof their home and avoid moving are giving their home attention to make it their perfect sanctuary.
- An interest in home offices
For some, it may be giving a little bit of TLC to an existing space to incorporate an office, upgrade the furniture, or make the environment more productive to be based in whilst working from home. Many others though are seeking to add a new office space through converting an existing room or even building a new bespoke one. If you can achieve a sufficient amount of privacy at home, a new office can also save the cost of leasing commercial space elsewhere, not to mention avoid the cost and daily grind of the commute.
- Outdoor living space
Of course, where indoor space is limited and even where it is not, if the garden offers plenty of space and gardening is more of a bore than a labour of love in your family, perhaps adding a new garden building would be a wonderful way of giving you an exciting new space for an office, studio, salon, or simply a family den or games room. The beauty of these is that they are separate enough from the home to give the sense of a designated space or purpose and can be built to your specification.
- Functional rooms
Our high use areas within the home, the kitchen and bathrooms, are always one of the main categories of renovation for homeowners. Typically, replacement of the fixtures and fittings as this can be a popular way to modernise the home and fall in love with your space again, as well as ensure the property is future proofed, which is key if you have no plans to move and want to ensure you are not having to endure building works when you would rather be enjoying your retirement.
- Increasing energy efficiency
In recent years we have all become far more attuned to the concept of sustainability not to mention cautious in the area of energy costs. So, another potential focus for home improvement may be relate to your home’s infrastructure. Whether it is insulating the roof space, installing a new hot water system and radiators or replacement windows and doors; all these renovations can prove to be a wise investment in the current times and for many years ahead, making them much easier for homeowners to justify taking on in 2023.
- Multi-dwelling homes
One of the things that the UK is seeing more and more of are home purchases by more than one person, perhaps by siblings, or pairs of friends for example. Furthermore, if you have an older family member who lives alone, there is a much greater chance that you may seek to combine your home purchase power. Which means that the home needs to work for everyone in it. A recent report by Aviva revealed that a third of UK households are currently multi-generational and this was not a short-term lockdown phenomenon.
This fact means that savvy homeowners are more interested on the concept of future proofing their home, be it seeking space for adult children to remain at home or moving in elderly family members. Ensuring that the home is sufficiently comfortable and accessible for all can be crucial and, at Home Lift Experts, we regularly guide customers on the best domestic lift solution for their needs, even factoring in the need for a wheelchair or walking frame.
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