In light of the changes to the housing market, homeowners are more likely to stay in their home to make renovations than purchase a new home. According to a survey by Lloyds TSB, there has been a 19% increase in the number of loan applications for house renovation compared with the previous year.

The research also revealed that 59% of homeowners who were considering selling their home have put these plans on hold. Half of these now plan on carrying out additional home improvements in order to avoid debt management problems and increase the value of their property. The top improvements which new buyers have shown the most interest in are new kitchen or bathroom.

David Wishart, director of personal loans at Lloyds TSB, commented: “In recent months we have seen a significant increase in home improvement personal loan requests. For the last decade homeowners have been able to sit back and rely on rising property prices to increase the equity in their home but sadly this is no longer possible.”