English Living
Renovations
15 MILLION HOMEOWNERS PLANNING IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR HOMES THIS YEAR
IMPRESSING NEIGHBOURS AND FRIENDS IS KEY DRIVER FOR RENOVATIONS
Fifth of homeowners prioritising outdoor renovations including landscape gardening, adding a pool or hot tub and new paving or driveway
17% who made improvements in last year did so to impress neighbours and friends rising to 27% of younger homeowners
35% plan to use credit to fund home improvements, rising to 39% of those with assets of £250,000+
15 million (46%) UK homeowners are planning improvements to their home in the next year, rising to over half (55%) for those with net assets of £250,000+. A fifth (22%) prioritise outside renovations including garden landscaping, paving and driveways, or adding a pool or hot tub, according to new research from Selina Advance.
In fact, that “curb appeal” is a key driving factor for home renovations as one in five (17%) of homeowners who made renovations in the last year did so to have as good a house, or the best house, among neighbours or friends. This rises to one four (27%) of younger home-owners (aged 18-34 years).
Selina Advance, a fintech that is the first to bring Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOCs) to UK homeowners this month, found that aside of outdoor improvements, bathroom renovations are a key priority for almost 3 million Brits (9% of all homeowners), followed by kitchen extensions or renovations (6%). 1.3 million homeowners plan to upgrade their home’s smart technology and a further 4% plan to make their home more sustainable, for example with solar panels (rising to 14% and 10% among those aged 18-34 respectively).
Table one - top 5 home improvements planned by homeowners in 2021/22:
Ranking Home Improvement %/number of Brits
1. Garden Landscaping 10% / 3.3 million
2. Bathroom renovation 9% / 2.9 million
3. New Paving / decking / pathways / Driveway 7% / 2.3 million
4. Kitchen extension or renovation 6% / 2 million
5. Upgrade my home smart technology 4% / 1.3 million Make my house more sustainable (eg solar panels) 4% / 1.3 million
Over the last year, Selina Advance found that more than half of all homeowners (55%) had made home improvements, rising to three-quarter (75%) of those aged 18-34 and 69% among those living in London.
The top motivations for home renovations include:
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· to add value to their home (23%)
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· creating more entertaining space (18%)
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· to enable home-working (11%), rising to 16% of 35-54 year olds
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· 8% wanted to create space for children and growing families (rising to 14% of 18-34 year olds)
Hubert Fenwick, Co-founder, Selina Advance, said:
The recent lockdowns have made us all think differently about our homes and it’s made many of us aspirational about how we want our homes to look, feel and operate. This looks set to continue as a further 15 million Brits have their sights set on upgrading their homes in the next 12 months, with external renovations such as garden landscaping, paving and patios, swimming pools and hot tubs, proving particularly popular.
Over a third of homeowners plan to use credit to fund home improvements this year
Selina Advance’s new research has also found that more than a quarter of homeowners (26%) used credit to fund home improvements made in the last year (22% used unsecured credit such as credit cards or loans and 9% remortgaged), rising to 34% among those with net assets of £250,000+ (28% with unsecured credit such as cards and loans and 13% remortgaged).
Similarly, among those planning renovations in the next year, 35% plan to use credit (32% with unsecured credit such as a credit card or loan and 10% plan to remortgage). Among those with higher assets (£250,000+) almost four in ten (39%) plan to use some form of credit (including 13% that plan to remortgage).
Fenwick continues: “A growing number of homeowners say they plan to borrow to fund the works to their home – with one in three choosing credit for renovations planned this year. HELOCs offer a new way for these homeowners who have worked hard to build up equity in their property, enabling them to borrow affordably, responsibly and with flexibility that is often needed with these projects in mind.”
Widely used in the US, Canada and Australia, Selina Advance has bought HELOCs to the UK to offer homeowners who have built up equity in their home - and wish to make a big purchase or fund home improvements - a new route to finance without the cost and complications of traditional loans or having to remortgage. Offering a new affordable and flexible form of lending to finance large purchases, the HELOCs are targeted at affluent homeowners; consumers are able to borrow (in the form of a line of credit to drawdown on as they choose) between £25,000 up to £1million with an APRC representative of 4.96% (rates starting at 3.95%) and terms ranging from five to 30 years.
Selina Advance is approved by the FCA and, as a responsible lender, has strict lending criteria; customers will need to be a homeowner with equity, a regular income and good credit score. Up to 85% loan to value (LTV) is available. Selina Advance does not lend to customers with an adverse credit score and bad credit history.
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The consumer research was carried out by Opinium Research between 6-10 August 2021 among 2,000 UK adults, of which 1,231 were homeowners (62%).
Numbers based on UK population total of 52,673,000 and Opinium’s finding from the research that 62% of UK adults are homeowners (32,657,260).