Responding to consumer trends

Ben Brocklesby, director at Origin, discusses how to appeal to homeowners who may have smaller renovation budgets. 

The UK economy remains uncertain, resulting in families tightening their belts. Fluctuating mortgage interest rates have slowed the housing market, while the enduring rising cost-of-living means people have less disposable income to spend, resulting in many households postponing large-scale renovation plans.

In fact, by analysing planning permission data, we found that planning application requests have fallen by a quarter (25%) since 2023.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Despite being more frugal, homeowners remain committed to improving their living space. As our research shows, online searches for the term ‘remodel’ have increased by 284% as they move away from costly large-scale extensions and focus instead on making better use of the space they already have.

By understanding current homeowner requirements and how they are re-prioritising their budgets, glazing professionals can use these insights to succeed in a challenging market.

What’s different?

Instead of the big home renovation projects, homeowners are focusing on making more of their current space by remodelling and making smaller-scale tweakments. These are less intrusive and more cost-effective, but can still make a huge difference to living spaces and have an impact on how they feel about their home.

Social media data also demonstrates this trend for ‘micro-makeovers’, with ‘cupboard transformation’ and ‘master bedroom makeover’ currently trending on TikTok. This, alongside growing searches for #homeimprovement, #decorating, and #flooring on the platform, demonstrates an enduring appetite amongst Brits to improve their space despite a difficult economic backdrop.

The rise of broken plan

One way homeowners are improving their homes is by maximising the space they already have instead of investing in extending.

For decades, large open-plan spaces have been popular, but this is no longer practical for modern living. Not only does it make compartmentalising life more difficult, but it also costs more to heat large rooms – another key concern for homeowners.

Our own sales and website data backs this up, with interest in internal glazed doors and fixed frames at an all-time-high as homeowners look to transform a property’s footprint into more practical spaces without a full-scale renovation.

With systems such as Origin’s Internal Door (OI-30), homeowners can create separate spaces without hampering the amount of natural light flowing through the property. This means they can create functional spaces for work, life, and play, without having to settle for lots of small, dark rooms.

It also means they don’t need to invest in extending for extending’s sake. They are making better use of the space they already have.

Looking ahead

Despite economic uncertainty, homeowners are still willing to invest in their homes. Whilst they may be cutting back on holidays abroad or meals out, they recognise the value their home environment has on their lives.

However, this does highlight the need for installers to understand what homeowners want to deliver on their expectations. Installers have an opportunity here to support homeowners to improve the look and feel of their home without embarking on major construction projects, whilst continuing to increase sales.

While smaller projects that create a big impact are the focus for homeowners right now, we anticipate that this will evolve as the market improves.