Spending on DIY Falls to Twelve Year Low

LONDON, ENGLAND, July 01, 2011 (Press-News.org) The bank, which specialises in a range of personal financial services from bank accounts to mortgages, found household expenditure on DIY totalled GBP9.5 billion in 2010, equivalent to an average outlay of GBP352 per household: a fall of 13% in real terms (i.e. after allowing for inflation) from the GBP10.9 billion spent in 2009.

Overall, expenditure on home maintenance (DIY and tradesmen's services) has fallen by 9% over the past year, from GBP17.8bn in 2009 to GBP16.2bn in 2010. Expenditure on tradesmen's services declined by 3% over the same period from GBP6.9bn to GBP6.7bn.

Over the past decade, UK households have increasingly looked to undertake home maintenance themselves instead of paying for tradesmen's services. In 2000, UK households spent 7% more in real terms on hiring tradesmen than DIY. By the end of the decade, however, this trend had been reversed as households spent 41% more on DIY than on hiring tradesmen in 2010.

And while DIY expenditure sits at a twelve year low, down -0.2% since 2000, this decline is still substantially smaller than the 34% fall in expenditure on tradesmen's services over the same period.

Suren Thiru, Lloyds TSB Housing Economist, commented: "Spending on DIY has fallen significantly over the past year. The current squeeze on household finances from high inflation and weak earnings growth has made it difficult for many households to spend as much as they used to on discretionary items such as home maintenance. However, the benefits associated with maintaining or improving your property is likely to ensure that over the long term the popularity of DIY will remain enduring."

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

- Between 2009 and 2010, spending by households on materials such as paint, wallpaper and plaster fell by 15% in real terms to GBP5.6 billion. Expenditure on tools and equipment for DIY (including power tools and lawnmowers), dropped by 9% over the same period.

- Real expenditure on tools and equipment for DIY has risen by 55% since 2000, compared to a 20% decrease in spending on materials.

- The latest available regional figures show that householders in Wales are the UK's biggest spenders on DIY, with an average outlay of GBP588 in nominal terms in 2009, followed by the North East (GBP572) and the West Midlands (GBP556). In contrast, those living in the North West (GBP322) spent the least on DIY.

- DIY expenditure as a proportion of total housing related expenditure (i.e. mortgage payments, household insurance etc) was the highest in the North East (11.1%) and lowest in London (4.7%).

Notes to Editors:

1Findings are based on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). All UK household expenditure figures are expressed in real terms, i.e. after allowing for inflation.

Data on home maintenance has been drawn from the ONS publications Consumer Trends and the Family Spending Survey. Household spending figures have been adjusted to allow for inflation by applying the relevant consumer price index (CPI). Regional figures are based on current prices, i.e. not adjusted for inflation.

Spending on home maintenance includes both the expenditure on DIY products and tradesmen's services.

The following ONS spending categories are included within DIY spending:
- Materials for maintenance and repair of the dwelling - includes paints, wallpaper, plaster, tiles and small plumbing items.
- Major tools and equipment - electric drills, power saws, hedge cutters, lawn mowers, chain saws and repairs of such.

Trade services includes:
- Services for maintenance and repair of the dwelling - includes fees to plumbers, electricians, carpenters, glaziers, decorators etc.

"This report is prepared from information that we believe is collated with care, however, it is only intended to highlight issues and it is not intended to be comprehensive. We reserve the right to vary our methodology and to edit or discontinue/withdraw this, or any other report. Any use of this report for an individual's own or third party commercial purposes is done entirely at the risk of the person making such use and solely the responsibility of the person or persons making such reliance. Lloyds TSB Bank plc all rights reserved 2011."

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