House extension projects - an increasing requirement for today's living standards?

This recession (2008 to ????) has not resulted in the same level of downturn in the house extension market as it did in the late 1980's recession.  In fact, I would suggest that the number of house extension projects has probably grown during this recession than it did in the prior boom years.

This is because most homeowners are either reluctant to move due to the associated punitive costs or cannot move due to not achieving their minimum house price.  Any house can be sold at the correct local market price so it is just a matter of 'how low will you go?' when buyers are scarce and the competitive element has been removed.

Therefore, many homewners are now considering staying put & implementing a house extension project to achieve their desired extra space for the large family kitchen / eating area or extra bedrooms etc.

To do this effectively, most homeowners do need to install a revised 5 year plan for the property where they can stay put and enjoy the extended and improved property for a number of years before considering another move.  Without this fixed pre-formed mind set they will still be looking move after the house extension designer or architect has secured formal Planning permission or Building Regulations consent.

Due to this reason, the number of house extension projects actually being implemented and constructed on site is quite a bit lower than the number of planning applications being submitted.  Perhaps only 1 in 6 approved planning schemes are actually being built within 1 year of receiving planning approval.

However, what these statistics do reveal quite clear that a home owners desire for added living space is as insatiable as ever even during the downturn years as in the boom period. Perhaps planning for a house extension project is good therapy as well even if it does not transpire to the built form on site.