Renovation 'soaring in popularity'

The practice of renovating one's home is growing rapidly in popularity as a result of the credit crunch, it has been stated.

Research by lender GE Money has found that those who might otherwise be planning to move home are increasingly tempted to sit tight.

The lender stated that this is being done as an alternative means of extending living space, or to repair problematic features of the house that might normally be left alone by householders as they would previously have been able to escape them by moving.

GE's head of mortgage marketing Gerry Bell advised homeowners think of undertaking renovation to know how much value they could add to a home through different measures to improve it.

He said that on average a loft conversion could add £23,000 to the average, while an extension could add £20,000, a conservatory £12,000 and a kitchen £8,000.

The increase in popularity of renovation comes at a time when the number of property transactions has halved.

Land Registry figures published today show that in March this year transactions totalled 53,080, compared with 106,047 in March 2007.