Property market plummets while DIY and home improvement increases
UK: With the recent slump in the housing market, it seems people are turning to improving their current property rather than moving to a new one. According to the Internet statistic guru Hitwise, online traffic has increased by over 20% in the last 12 months, while traffic to real estate websites has dropped by over 35%.
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UK estate agents are reporting on average only 1 house sale per week. This trend can also be seen online where their traffic and inquiries are massively down. Hitwise also documented that in August 2007 their stats suggested that 0.85% of all UK Internet visits were to property sites where as in the last few months the figure has dropped to just 0.55%. Again, this trend can be seen online with a reduction of a massive 53.1% for UK Internet searches for the term "houses for sale".
Online traffic for home improvement and DIY sites has actually increased in this period. Hitwise report that 0.49% of the total UK Internet traffic was going to house and garden sites in August 2007, compared to 0.59% in the last few months. This figure has now actually overtaken the traffic for property and estate agent sites. This clearly shows that people are turning their attention more to improving their current home, rather than moving to a new one. This could be an effort to make their properties more sellable on the market or simply to make them more comfortable until the housing market recovers.
Most of the major DIY stores and home improvement retailers have reported increased traffic and sales online this year than last. Many of them are also using a slightly different strategy to grab that traffic than previously. With the change in the property market and consumer spending on home improvement products, there has been a sharp rise in the number of searches for DIY guides and tips. In fact Hitwise reports that increase to be over 25% over the last 12 months. According to their data the top searched for DIY articles are:
- 'how to plaster'
- 'how to lay decking'
- 'how to wallpaper'
- 'how to hang a door'
- 'how to lay a patio'
- 'how to lay laminate flooring'
- 'how to hang wallpaper'
- 'how to make curtains'
- 'how to make a canopy porch'
- 'how to tile a bathroom'
An explanation for this rise in searches for DIY guides and such can also be put down to the credit crunch. People are now more willing to do the jobs themselves that they may have normally paid for a professional to do to save some money. Also people are more worried about the rising cost of utilities and therefore insulating their properties.
Reference: Hitwise
Source: eMediaWire.com
