Home improvements
- More than one in three homeowners (35%) spend over £2,000 a year on home improvements
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Don't do it yourself: statistics show that 4 out of 10 (43%) households have unfinished DIY projects
- Over half of outstanding jobs (57%) were started over 3 months ago.
The research shows the biggest spenders are those in the North West where two fifths (37%) of homeowners admit to splashing out over £2,000 a year compared to one in four of those in the South West and London who fork out a paltry £50 a year.
The research portrays the UK as a ‘procrasti'nation’, with four in ten homeowners (43%) admitting to starting a home improvement job that is subsequently never completed; the worst offenders being Londoners (52%) and teachers (54%).
The over 50s are the UK's most diligent DIY-ers, with just one in three (36%) admitting to having unfinished projects, perhaps due to the extra spare time and expertise they possess.
The excuses for these uncompleted home ‘unimprovements’ differed according to gender – 48% of men admit to just ‘not getting round to it’, whereas women are more likely to report a lack of time (49%). However, one in three (35%) run out of money before completing the job, 15% say the job was harder than they had anticipated and 13% simply lose interest.
* Research carried out by YouGov for Saga Home Insurance between 7th and 12th September amongst a UK representative sample of 2,231 respondents.