Homeowners opt to refurbish instead of move

May 30, 2025 by Heidi

Advice & Tips

The latest piece of research indicates that a lot of homeowners are opting to refurbish their properties instead of moving, with cost cited as the main reason for this.

This research was carried out by the bank and mortgage lender Santander. What it shows is that 57% of those who own a home and who had thought about moving during the past year had now decided to wait instead. This adds up to three-fifths of them. Another striking discovery is that 31% of those people were choosing to refurbish their homes as an alternative to moving. This can increase remortgage options to fund refurbishment.

The main reason they made that choice is that moving at the moment would be too expensive. This is even though affordability has improved and rates have fallen in recent months. Among the costs putting off homeowners are estate agent charges and solicitor fees, cited by 30% of respondents.

A further 27% told the survey that they considered refurbishing to be cheaper overall, while 16% named the revised stamp duty threshold as the influencing factor. One out of every five homeowners stated that they would be keener to move if that was reduced to 3%.

Santander UK head of homes, David Morris, stated to Financial Reporter:

“Despite a significantly healthier property market than in recent years, the rising costs of moving and recent increases to stamp duty are leading many homeowners to consider their options before packing up.”

Remortgages are a huge opportunity for those with CeMAP training, and keeping in touch with past customers is a great way to maximise this.