Renegade Conservatory Guy

Property Makeover Price Guide - Complete nonsense from RICS / BCIS

Both the glazine and Fenestration news have this week made reference to a new survey by the RICS suggesting home improvement costs have increased by 20%.  The story has had widespread coverage across the media, such as on this BBC webpage.

According to the RICS / BCIS Property Makeover Price Guide 2008:

The rising costs of transport and raw materials and a shortage of tradesmen is pushing up the costs of home improvements, according to new figures by RICS’ Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).

BCIS’ updated Property Makeover Price Guide, launched today (03 June 2008), gives homeowners an accurate guide to what they should expect to pay for home improvements. It has found the average cost of improvement work has risen by 20 percent over the past two years for a number of reasons.

They list a few examples, as follows:

1. Repairing windows in poor decorative order (both sides of an average window  size from 600 x 900mm to 1500 x 1200mm) 
 Was £75 - £280
 Now £88 - £330   17% rise

2. Realign PVCu gutters
 Was £340 - £1260
 Now £430 - £1590 26% rise

7. Adding double glazing
 (PVCu sash window – approximate window size 600×900mm – 1200×1200mm)
 Was £850 -£1,580
 Now £1,040 - £1,930     22% rise

10. Adding a 4×4 conservatory
 Was £15000 - £19000
 Now £18500 - £23000 22% rise

Points 1 and 2 are difficult to comment on, as there are so many variables.  It’s like trying to argue about how long a piece of string is.

We then have the suggestion that the cost of adding uPVC windows or a conservatory has risen by 22% in the past two years!

This has made me so angry!  This is complete nonsense!!

Where on earth has this research been gathered from?

Where in the UK is an average 4 x 4 conservatory selling for between £18,500 - £23,000?  It certainly can’t be the West Midlands.  Easi-Fit are selling them for around £5000!!!

In the North of England, you’d get a top spec 4x 4 conservatory for less than £15,000 - easy.  If RICS can let me know where companies are selling average 4×4 conservatories for £23,000, then please get in touch with me and I’ll move my business there.

If there has been an increase in the overall price of conservatories over the last 2 years, then any small increase will be down to consumers choosing to upgrade to glass roofs, coloured frames, larger conservatories etc.

Like-for-like conservatory prices are unlikely to have changed in price very much.  The problem is that in a tough market, the last thing we need is the media warning people against making home improvement decisions as they have become too expensive.  Especially when it is not true!

And uPVC double glazing is in a similar position.

The companies I speak to are finding it harder and harder to find customers, and the decreased demand is making things even more competitive.  Many companies are now selling for less than 2 years ago, as they have no choice.

I would agree that the rising costs of raw materials and fuel are having a dramatic effect on double glazing companies, but they are unable to pass these increased costs on to consumers in the current climate.  They are simply getting squeezed and squeezed to breaking point.

With reduced demand, and increased competition the last thing any company is going to do is put their prices up 22%.  This would be suicidal.

The Property Makeover Price Guide: Organising and Budgeting for Home Improvers & Developers, 2nd edition is priced £17.99 and can be ordered online at www.bcis.co.uk. 

But if I was you, I’d not bother wasting your money.