Cost of having home improvements on the up
June 30, 2008
The number of people that are deciding to have home improvement carried out is on the rise, and this is because many homeowners are now finding that it has become far more difficult and expensive to sell their property in the current financial climate, and with house prices tumbling many are reluctant to sell because of the potential losses that they could face. Many have therefore decided to try and improve their existing home rather than uproot and move to another one.
However, according to a recent report the cost of having home improvements carried out has also been rising, with the cost of having building work carried out having risen by around 20% over the past two years. Officials from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have stated that the reasons behind the price hikes in home improvement works include increased operating costs for firms and is also the result of many Eastern European workers heading back home.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors stated: ‘No longer can homeowners pick and choose from the glut of quality EU tradesmen as the number of central and eastern European nationals returning to their native countries is on the rise. With half of the estimated one million British-based Poles having already left the UK, competition for labour is pushing up costs.’
It added: ‘The upward trend in oil prices is continuing to fuel the rising cost of transport, with forecasters predicting oil to rise to $200 per barrel in the next few years. Global demand for raw materials remains at an all-time high. With emerging giants such as China and India showing no signs of a slowdown, commodity prices will remain high for years to come. This is no more evident than in the various trades where the cost of materials have pushed up the overall costs.’
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