DIY websites 'getting hammered by visits'

The number of Brits visiting house and garden retail sites are up by over 20 per cent, it has emerged.

According to the Retail Bulletin, citing new figures from Hitwise, internet visits to house and garden websites are up while visits to estate agent and property websites are down.

Visits to home and garden domains are up by 20.5 per cent over the last 12 months, in stark contrast to the 35.2 per cent fall in traffic to estate agent and property-related sites.

Robin Goad, director of research at Hitwise, said that the figures suggest homeowners are planning to make improvements to their existing property rather than move.

Mr Goad said that the interesting thing about the escalation in traffic is that it applies "both to DIY retailers, such as B&Q, Screwfix and Homebase", as well as "furniture retailers such as Ikea, Laura Ashley and Wilkinson Plus."

Meanwhile, this week Gordon Brown unveiled plans to make Britain's homes more energy efficient, including setting a target of insulating every UK home by 2020, the Telegraph reported.