
More than half of homeowners put off moving by cost
More than half of homeowners who have considered moving in the past year have paused their plans due to the high costs involved, research from Santander has revealed.
Some 57 per cent have made the choice to stay put, while 31 per cent decided to renovate their homes instead of moving to avoid an onslaught of stamp duty, solicitor and estate agent costs.
Homeowners in Wales had the highest home improvement rate – with 6.43 planning applications submitted for every 1,000 homes last year.
Scotland follows in second place with 5.94 planning applications per 1,000 homes.
Single storey rear extensions, single storey side extensions and loft conversions are popular in these areas, as people choose to upgrade their homes instead of moving.
Homeowners in Wales and Scotland also plan to spend an average of £11,000 making their upgrades this year. But applications for home office projects have taken a dive since the pandemic, as employees return to their workplaces. They've plummeted by 55 per cent between 2021 and 2024 in Scotland and 27 per cent in Wales.
All areas of England had less than 1 planning application submitted per 1,000 homes in 2024.
The North West had the lowest number of home improvements – with 0.2 applications submitted for every 1,000 homes. At the opposite end of the country, the South East had just 0.23 for every 1,000.
David Morris, head of homes at Santander, says: 'Given the projected surge in house prices in areas such as Scotland, as well as the cost of moving increasing significantly in recent years, it's not surprising that these homeowners are investing in renovations to add value to their properties.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
What does the change to the winter fuel payment mean?
After months of speculation the government has announced that it will reinstate the winter fuel payment to most pensioners in England and Wales. Under the new rules, any pensioner with an income of up to £35,000 a year will be eligible for the full allowance, while anyone on more will have to pay back their share. The payment is worth £200 a year to households where both pensioners are aged under 80 years old, and £300 if there is a person aged 80 or over. A pensioner aged 85 who lives alone will get £300, as will a couple of the same age. The new system will mean these payments are made automatically to those receiving a state pension. There will be no need to claim the money. No. The threshold applies to individuals, not households. A couple who qualify for a £200-a-year payment will get £100 each. If one has an income of more than £35,000 a year and the other does not, the higher earner will have £100 clawed back while the other one is allowed to keep the money. In a couple where one person is aged 80, they will receive £200 and the other will receive £100. The person over 80 will repay £200 if their income is more than £35,000. This will create some quirks. A single pensioner, living alone, will repay the full £200 or £300 if their income is more than £35,000, while a couple with an income of £69,000 would keep all the money. Two households with the same incomes and one person aged over 80 could have to repay different sums depending on whether it is the older or younger person who receives more than £35,000. For most pensioners, money will be taken through the pensioner's tax code and applied to their income the next year. Those who already file a tax return for other reasons may find it is added to it, but it is not yet clear if that will be the case. The same is true when someone dies. The government says it will not make families do a return or pursue them for the winter fuel payment. However, if they have to do a return for someone who has died for other reasons, it is not clear if they will have to declare the payment. There is a potential for problems if someone retires part-way through a tax year and earns more than £35,000 because they are still getting their salary, then drops well below that the next year – they will be faced with repaying the payment when they are on a lower income. No. The new means-testing will take into account income only, not savings or the value of any property. A person with £1m in the bank would still qualify for the payment with an income less than £35,000. The Scottish government gives out a pension-age winter heating payment. Last winter this was restricted to only those people who qualified for one of a handful of benefits including pension credit. This will change next winter, and the payment will be given more widely. Northern Ireland has a winter fuel payment and seems likely to move in line with England and Wales.


Auto Express
29 minutes ago
- Auto Express
Car Deal of the Day: A Volkswagen Golf R Estate for less than a GTI
328bhp, 155mph top speed Practical interior, high-quality cabin Only £270.41 a month If you've got your heart set on a fast estate car for not much cash, then you better load up on this deal, because this Volkswagen Golf R Estate won't be around for long at this price. Select Car Leasing is offering the scintillating Volkswagen Golf R Estate for a simply unbelievable £270.41 a month right now. That's more than 300bhp for much less than £300 a month, which is not just an incredible power-per-pound ratio, it also means that this range-topping performance Golf is cheaper per month than the lesser potent (and practical) Golf GTI five-door hatch. This two-year deal requires £3,598.92 to be put down as an initial payment, and mileage is limited to 5,000 miles a year. This offer is better suited to lower-mileage drivers, because two-year, 8,000 miles per annum deals are all around £400 a month from every broker on the Auto Express Find a Car service, including from Select Car Leasing. Advertisement - Article continues below Despite that, you're getting one of the finest fast estates around. The 328bhp 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine fires the load-lugger from zero to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds, before topping out at 155mph. The car's seven-speed dual-clutch auto box also ensures gear changes are ruthlessly efficient. Beneath the practical body lies a trick four-wheel-drive system, which uses torque vectoring and electronic differential locks to send power to both front-to-rear and left-to-right. And the latest Golf R comes with DCC3 (Dynamic Chassis Control) as standard, allowing you to tweak the dampers and suspension to suit your mood. Of course, this being an estate car, space is important – rear legroom is pretty good and the 611-litre boot is enormous. Up front, the latest Golf features an improved cabin with an easier-to-use infotainment system and better-quality fixtures and fittings. The Car Deal of the Day selections we make are taken from our own Auto Express Find A Car deals service, which includes the best current offers from car dealers and leasing companies around the UK. Terms and conditions apply, while prices and offers are subject to change and limited availability. If this deal expires, you can find more top Volkswagen Golf R Estate leasing offers from leading providers on our Volkswagen Golf R Estate hub page. Check out the Volkswagen Golf R Estate deal or take a look at our previous Car Deal of the Day selection here… Find a car with the experts Avoid using car finance claim firms, says financial watchdog Avoid using car finance claim firms, says financial watchdog FCA warns that using a claim firm could see consumers lose up to 30 per cent of their winnings if car finance redress scheme is implemented Omoda 9 review Omoda 9 review Chinese brand's flagship aims to offer premium-SUV kit and comfort, for the price of mainstream rivals. Can it deliver? In-depth reviews 6 Jun 2025 Best mid-size SUVs to buy 2025 - our expert pick of the top options Best mid-size SUVs to buy 2025 - our expert pick of the top options Mid-size SUVs are hugely popular in the UK, and these are the very best of the current crop Best cars & vans 4 Jun 2025


Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Ministers FINALLY settle spending plans with Rachel Reeves' Treasury 48 hours before they are to be revealed, as minister says 'austerity is over'
Ministers have finally all agreed spending deals with the Treasury, No10 confirmed this afternoon, just 48 hours before they are to be revealed by Rachel Reeves. Haggling had been raging this morning, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper desperately trying to get more money for the police and borders funding. The Chancellor is due to lay out departmental allocations running up to 2029 - the likely timetable for the next general election - on Wednesday. But the generous fiscal envelope set at the Budget last Autumn has been put under massive pressure by the economic slowdown, calls for more defence cash, and Labour revolts on benefits. Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The spending review is settled, we will be focused on investing in Britain's renewal so that all working people are better off. 'The first job of the Government was to stabilise the British economy and the public finances, and now we move into a new chapter to deliver the promise and change.' Ms Reeves has signalled she will announce real-terms increases to budgets for police as she tries to quell Home Office resistance. However, that is likely to be offset by cuts to other areas, with the NHS and defence sucking up funding. The political backdrop to the proposals this week is the Reform surge, with Labour panicking about the challenge from Nigel Farage. Touring broadcast studios this morning, Technology minister Chris Bryant denied the review will mark a return to austerity. But he acknowledged some parts of the budget will be 'more stretched'. He told Times Radio: 'That period of austerity where I think previous governments simply cut all public service budgets just because they believed that was what you had to do is over. 'But, secondly, we are investing, but it's not just about spending money, you have to get return, and that means we have to have change and we have to have a plan for change in every single one of our public services.' He pointed to increased investment in defence and health, but added: 'There are going to be other parts of the budget that are going to be much more stretched and be difficult.' Ms Reeves will have some £113billion to distribute that has been freed up by looser borrowing rules on capital investment. But she has acknowledged that she has been forced to turn down requests for funding for projects she would have wanted to back in a sign of the behind-the-scenes wrangling over her spending review. Economists have warned the Chancellor faces unavoidably tough choices in allocating funding for the next three years. She will need to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, as well as her strict fiscal rules which include a promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues. The expected increase to police budgets comes after two senior policing figures publicly warned that the service is 'broken' and forces are left with no choice but to cut staff to save money. Nick Smart, the president of the Police Superintendents' Association, and Tiff Lynch, acting national chairman for the Police Federation of England and Wales, said policing was in 'crisis'. In a joint article for the Telegraph, they said: 'Police forces across the country are being forced to shed officers and staff to deliver savings. These are not administrative cuts. 'They go to the core of policing's ability to deliver a quality service: fewer officers on the beat, longer wait times for victims, and less available officers when crisis hits.' The Department of Health is set to be the biggest winner in Ms Reeves' spending review on Wednesday, with the NHS expected to receive a boost of up to £30billion at the expense of other public services. Meanwhile, day-to-day funding for schools is expected to increase by £4.5billion by 2028-9 compared with the 2025-6 core budget, which was published in the spring statement. Elsewhere, the Government has committed to spend 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3 per cent over the next parliament – a timetable which could stretch to 2034. Ms Reeves' plans will also include an £86billion package for science and technology research and development. But Sadiq Khan's office is concerned the spending review will include no new projects or funding for London. The mayor had been seeking extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and Bakerloo Underground line, along with powers to introduce a tourist levy and a substantial increase in funding for the Metropolitan Police, but his office now expects none of these will be approved. A source close to Sir Sadiq said ministers 'must not return to the damaging, anti-London approach of the last government', adding this would harm both London's public services and 'jobs and growth across the country'. They said: 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been clear it would be unacceptable if there are no major infrastructure projects for London announced in the spending review and the Met doesn't get the funding it needs.