In the current property situation it appears that the majority of homeowners improving their properties are doing so to increase its value according to the Halifax.
The Halifax survey found that around 28 percent of people are planning home improvements this year, with the primary objective being add value. Of these people around half of them are expecting to add in the region of GBP5,000 to what the property is worth, with over 10 percent aiming for between GBP10,000 and GBP25,000.
By far the most popular improvement is redecorating, followed by garden improvements and adding new furnishings. A Halifax spokesman said that home improvements can add value to a home, although expectations of higher property values should be balanced against a market where the buyer is stronger right now, so prices can be variable.
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The Nationwide Building Society house price survey recorded the biggest year on year fall since they began collating data in 1991.
June saw house prices drop by over 8 percent compared with the same time last year, also down 1.7 percent compared with the previous month. In monetary terms the average property now costs GBP15,000 less than it did a year ago according to the Nationwide Building Society, something that can be seen as both good and bad. For first time buyers there is the chance to afford a house that was previously out of reach, but existing homeowners may not want to sell if they bought recently since they would lose money.
This latest drop makes nine consecutive months of price drops in the housing market, putting them at their lowest since the summer of 2006. The Nationwide Building Society are one of the key players in the mortgage market and are hopeful that things will turn around.
The monthly review of house prices provided by the Nationwide Building Society has shown another fall in house prices for June, though much less than it was in May.
House prices in June fell by less than one percent, compared with a drop of 2.5 percent in May. Although this is still a decrease in property prices it is at a much steadier rate which is an easier situation to deal with than the sharp drops seen before. The Nationwide Building Society chief economist noted that although the average house costs about GBP11,500 less than it did this time last year, compared with two years ago it is still 4 percent higher, and 9 percent higher when looking at a three year gap.
As the market stands then it is still in quite healthy shape for most homeowners who bought a couple of years ago or more and even then, as the Nationwide Building Society would point out, property is still an excellent investment over the longer term.
