Although the housing market has slowed down, people are increasingly turning their attention to home improvements, according to Sainsbury's Bank home improvement index.
The index, which tracks the amount people plan to spend on their homes over the next six months, revealed that, between now and February 2006, an estimated £79.3 billion will be spent on home improvements. This is around £22 billion or 39% more than people planned to spend during the period February 2005 to July 2005.
Our view
In the time honoured tradition of houses being expensive or slowing down, people turn to improving what they have.