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Londoners Splashing Out on Home Improvement Jobs
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Many Londoners are splashing out on home improvement jobs, with 82% of homeowners in the capital conducting DIY tasks each month in 2016, according to new research by Portico London estate agents.
Londoners Splashing Out on Home Improvement Jobs
Almost 20% of Londoners spent over £1,000 on home improvement jobs during the year, with B&Q voted the number one place to buy their materials, closely followed by Homebase.
However, despite the capital being full of keen DIYers, 70% of Londoners said they also paid for work to be done around their homes in 2016, with over half spending more than £1,000 on tradespeople or maintenance services last year.
Although plumbing and electrical work – the most specialist tasks – were the most common home improvement jobs that Londoners forked out for, one in three homeowners in the capital also paid to have painting and decorating work done, while 28% paid for gardening or outside work.
Interestingly, the study also found that Londoners would also pay a tradesperson to complete a number of relatively straightforward and small jobs around the home – 21% would pay for someone to fix or change a light, and 11% would splash out for a tradesperson to hang up their shelves.
This could be put down to the growth in availability of tradespeople for smaller home improvement jobs on new online sites, with Londoners rating recommendation as the number one thing they look for in a tradesperson, over price, expertise and good reviews.
The Managing Director of the estate agent, Robert Nichols, comments: “In today’s market, if you’re thinking of selling, it’s imperative your house is looking its best, whether that’s with a fresh lick of paint, a new bathroom or kitchen, or improved kerb appeal. Home improvements will not only boost the value of a property, they’ll also lead to a quicker sale, so hiring a handyman is certainly not a false economy.
“In fact, if you find a competitive day rate and get all your DIY jobs in one sweep, hiring a handyman or tradesman can actually be very cost-effective.”
Landlords, do you pay someone to complete small home improvement jobs in your properties, or do you do them yourself?
