Insurance News Archive

Homeowners more likely to renovate properties

Homeowners are more likely to renovate their existing property rather than seek to reinvest in bricks and mortar due to rising property taxation, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said.

According to the group, increasing numbers of homebuyers are being taxed at higher rates of stamp duty.

Bernard Clarke, a spokesperson for the CML, said the tax "must be an incentive not to move if they can avoid that, but instead to enhance their property by adding to it or extending it".

The announcement follows a recent government survey on English housing which shows that over half of homeowners releasing equity on their property use the money for home improvements.

It also showed that almost a third used the money to pay off debts, while 15 per cent bought goods for their homes.

27 Nov 2006