From: Jeremy Phillips, group chairman, CDW Systems
After the unprecedented demand from homeowners during the last two years, installers could have been forgiven for thinking the feast was over as the UK relaxed it’s Covid measures. In fact, I think it’s fair to say that we all thought things would inevitably slowdown in the industry.
Revealing figures from building society Nationwide, however, may mean that that’s not quite the case. A 20% rise in house prices in the two years since the coronavirus pandemic began, the average home going up £29,000 over the past year alone, the average home jumping £44,000 to £260,000 over the past two years, and house price inflation hitting 12.6% in February might suggest it’s currently a sellers’ market.
What they also suggest is home improvements are going to stay centre stage as homeowners struggle to make the move. A house price boom has driven the cost of a home relative to wages up from already elevated levels and with homeowners unable to afford a new home, they will be staying put
The market will be further dampened by the cost-of-living crisis and the current economic uncertainty caused by world events. We are seeing this ourselves, and it’s no surprise that demand for our bi-fold doors and roof lights rising. Those more premium lifestyle products, as well as our sliding patio doors and Designer Doors, are in demand as homeowners continue to want the very best. This is only going to increase as more homeowners decide to improve instead of move.
We have the solutions and can provide installers with the products that will help them take advantage and win more business.
Our sliding aluminium bifold door from Aluk is designed to provide a maximum opening width with minimum intrusion on interior floor space and each door leaf neatly folds back and can be designed to slide either to the left or the right, while our Aliver Rooflight system provides a fixed, flat solution featuring an elegant and unobtrusive aluminium frame and a unique, concealed fixing system which makes it fast and easy to install – and both are a great combination when teamed up together.
Sky-high house prices and economic uncertainty will be good news for installers as it means that home improvements will remain an attractive proposition for homeowners – and there’s still plenty of life in the home improvement market yet.
