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British people aspire to build their own home with the very latest technology
There is still strong demand in the UK from people who want to build their own home with new research showing that 27% aspire to do so and many want the very latest technology. The most common reason for people building their own home is to have the freedom to design it how they want with 79% giving this reason, according to the research by price comparison website Confused. Some 33% would be fulfilling a life-long dream by building their own home and 33% want a property that is unique. But just 7% have actually fulfilled their dream. The research also shows that 34% say they would like to have more modern technologies in their home with 34% wanting to control appliance by smartphone, 21% wanting self flushing toilets and 20% voice activated lighting. Nearly half, 49%, say they would like to have a home security system, 46% would like to have underfloor heating and 40% would like to have a home cinema or entertainment system. Although many people want their homes to be more technologically advanced in the future, it’s clear that technology already plays an important part in today’s modern home. A third believe that modern technologies make running a home easier and 9% already control some household appliances with their phone. Of those who opt for mobile phone control, the majority, 62% use it to control their TV, 29% control their lighting and 13% use their phone to control their curtains. Some 25% say they prefer a more traditional home, 23% think modern technologies in the home encourages laziness and 17% think modern technologies in the home cause complications. Looking forward 10 years to 2025, it would seem that people expect innovative technologies designed to make our lives easier even more prevalent in the home. Some 44% say they think voice activated lighting will be commonplace in the home, with a further 43% predicting security systems with facial recognition will become a standard feature. Some 23% believe that in a decade homes will have remote controlled fridges, 22% foresee steam washing machines and 20% voice activated cookers. Other technological advances that people believe will be rolled out in homes across the country in years to come include sinks with built in dishwashers, smart kitchen surfaces that will identify what’s on them and have the ability to keep food at the right temperature and fridges which creates recipes for the food you have stored inside them. ‘We’re all individuals and it’s understandable that we’d want to reflect this within our homes. Building your own home is the ultimate step towards that goal whether you prefer a more traditional home or one with every gadget on the market,’ said Gareth Lane, head of home insurance at Confused. Continue reading
Most home owners in UK who build an extension want a bigger kitchen
Rear and side extensions have become the most popular way for home owners in the UK to increase the size of their property, new research shows. Some 31% of those who have extended their home in the last two years opted to build on the side or behind and most wanted a bigger kitchen, according to the study from Sainsbury’s Home Insurance. Conservatories are the second most popular residential extension accounting for 29%, followed by loft extensions at 15%, garage conversions at 11% and the construction of an outbuilding such as a garden room or home office at 5%. Of those who have undertaken home extensions in the past 24 months some 25% have added between 11 and 20 square meters of additional living space to their homes, while 23% have added 21 to 30 square meters and 18% have added 31 square metres or more. Amongst builders surveyed for the research, rear extensions were the type of home extension most frequently carried out, with 92% of builders having completed one in the past 12 months. These were followed by side extensions at 72%, loft extensions at 54% and garage conversions at 41%. The findings indicate a trend towards families spending more time in larger kitchens where they cook and eat together. According to the builders’ survey bigger kitchens and kitchen diners were the most frequent reason cited for a home extension, with 84% of builders having worked on these. The second most popular intended use for the new space was for additional bedrooms, accounting for 61%, followed by new bathrooms and home offices at 53% each. ‘For those who are improving and extending their homes, it’s crucial to advise their home insurance provider. Making revisions to a property such as adding new rooms could change the value of the property significantly and failing to report alterations may see people left under-insured or with invalidated insurance policies,’ said Tom Thomson of Sainsbury’s Home Insurance. Continue reading
More British buyers interested in property in Italy, research suggests
Favourable exchange rates have led to more potential British buyers looking at the Italian property market and they are also considering more expensive houses, it is claimed. The value of the Italian real estate for which the British have made requests has almost doubled, up 90%, in the last year, according to research from Gate-Away, an online real estate portal that promotes Italian properties to overseas buyers. If in the first quarter of 2014 the average value was €190,000 but in the first three months of this year it was €324,000. The number of requests from the United Kingdom has also increased strongly, up 87.5% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. The UK is still the country which generates the highest number of requests with 17.6% of the total, ahead of the United States at 14.2% and France at 9.3%. This is set to continue, the firm says, as the current favourable exchange rate allows the same Sterling budget to stretch to properties which have a much higher value in Euros compared to last year. Requests from the United Kingdom for properties under €100,000 fell from 45% in the first quarter of 2014 to 39% in the first quarter of 2015, contrary to what happened with regard to buildings above €500,000, demand for which rose from 4.9% to 10.7%. ‘The average value of the Italian properties sought by the British has grown tremendously in this first quarter, and even beyond the depreciation of the Euro against the pound,’ said Simone Rossi, commercial director of Gate-Away. ‘More and more Brits that ever are being driven by the favourable economic climate and are finding that the Italian real estate market is far from inaccessible and beginning to consider the idea of buying a house in Italy very seriously,’ added Rossi. The research also shows that after years of unchallenged domination by Tuscany, in the first quarter Puglia topped the list of locations most desired by British buyers with 13.9% of total requests, just ahead of Tuscany at 11.8%, Piedmont at 9.6%, Abruzzo at 9.4% and Liguria at 9.3% of the requests. Some 80% of the requests by the United Kingdom were for individual houses and 20% for apartments. Some 55.7% of the requests are for properties which are already habitable and 20% for property to be restored, which confirms that the English have a preference for this particular type of investment abroad. Continue reading
