New research has found that over a quarter of homeowners have put home improvements on hold this summer as a result of market uncertainty following the UK’s vote to leave the Europen Union.
With political parties in turmoil, uncertainty in the currency markets and a general uncertainty of what will happen now that the UK has voted to leave the European Union, it seems that many are holding back on big expenditures until the situation has stabilised.
The study surveyed over 1,000 UK homeowners over the age of 18, aiming to find out what the British public’s views were regarding home improvements after the Brexit vote.
Participants were asked: “Has the recent Brexit vote and market uncertainty made you less likely to do any home improvements this summer?” 29% stated that they had put off home improvements for the time being due to housing market uncertainty, the lower pound pushing prices up and job insecurities.
Those who answered yes to the first question were also asked the multiple-choice question of: “Why are you holding off on doing any home improvements?”
The lower pound and higher prices were found to be at the top of many people’s worries when committing to home improvements with 34% of the vote, while many were concerned about job insecurity (21%), uncertainty in the housing market (17%) and markets in general (18%) after the referendum vote.
10% of those polled stated that they were thinking of relocating outside of the UK. Other reasons mentioned were a lack of money, would only consider emergency projects, and spending money elsewhere instead of the house.
Neil Beard, from Mayfair Granite, commented: “This survey shows that the Brexit vote has affected all parts of society, with many wondering what this decision means for the future of the housing market, money markets and job markets.
“It’s interesting to see that 10% of those polled were thinking of relocating outside of the UK; whether this is a knee jerk response to the vote or not, it just shows the uncertainty that we are all experiencing right now.”
