News: What’s hot for the world of property in 2008?

News: What’s hot for the world of property in 2008?

We look at eco-friendly houses, multigenerational homes, shared properties and other trends.

Once Christmas is out of the way, the tree is back in the loft, the decorations are down and we’ve all put on a few pounds, something ignites in the minds of the British consumer – we all want to shop. And most of us want to shop for home improvements, with sofas, kitchens and bathrooms top of the shopping list.

According to research by The British Retail Authority, poor sales in the run-up to Christmas will force stores to slash prices by up to 75 per cent, and sales will starts as early as Boxing Day. But what will we be buying? Here, Mark Cooper, Managing Director of Homeimprovementquotes.co.uk, takes a look at some of the shopping trends for home interiors in 2008, as well as the bigger investments some of us will be making into property.

Eco-friendly housing will be even bigger
You may take a lead from Gordon Brown who recently doubled his plans to build eco towns and is now set to build ten around Britain in the coming years, two of which are planned for 2008. The new environmentally friendly towns aim to reduce the carbon footprint, with houses running on self-generated power and the families being more self-sufficient. One village in Shropshire is already acting as a model for how the new eco-towns will look and function – 20 houses have already been built, and this will double to 40 by 2009.

Every house in the village is made from timber, and resembles a Scandinavian log cabin. All the other material used in the build is renewable or reclaimed – lime mortar, timber cladding and clay roof tiles. The key to these eco-friendly houses is the insulation – triple glazing, underfloor cladding and walls over one foot thick keep the heat in, and reduce excess emissions. The walls are lined with plywood, membrane and recycled newspaper, and extra warmth is provided by wood-burning stoves. The house’s water supply is heated by solar panels on the roof.

The carbon footprint for these houses is minimal, and to top it all off, families who live here are each provided with an allotment, so they can even grow their own food as well! However all this self sufficiency comes at a price. At the moment, eco-homes cost 30 per cent more than a standard family home, but with the introduction of more of these villages in the future, that price will have to decrease.

I’ll huff and I’ll puff…
But this house made of straw won’t blow in! Keeping on an eco-theme, you could build your own eco-friendly mobile home out of, of all things, straw! Apparently this is a trend which has already taken off in Canada, France, Germany and Austria, and could be set for Britain in the coming year. The end structure looks a lot like a caravan, but is in fact made from bales of straw and sheep-fleece insulation. The straw is stacked onto metal spikes to form load-bearing walls, and the rest of the straw is stacked onto a wooden framework, which is removed later. Once the straw is in place, the walls are plastered with lime render which strengthens it so that the wooden frame can be taken out.

Insulation is once again the key to keeping the carbon footprint of these properties low. The heat is generated through solar panels on the roof and cannot escape due to the thick underfloor, wall and roof insulation made from sheep’s fleece. The straw itself makes the structure at least ten degrees warmer than a conventional mobile home. However you may want to stick to your chilly caravan once you see the price – at the moment, a mobile home made of straw will set you back £30,000.

Will we ever leave home?
At the opposite end of the scale to self sufficiency is the next trend to reach our shores for 2008. Already popular in America, the “multi-generational” home could be the answer to teenagers who want their own space, but can’t afford to step onto the property ladder. “Multi-generational” homes are based on the same idea as having an annexe but have their own front door, and are specifically targeted at older children who need their own space, particularly if they have just returned from a gap-year or university.

A new development in Rochdale, aimed for completion at the end of 2008, primarily contains “multi-generational” houses. Most are three storey houses with two front doors, one to the main house, and another to a separate section of the ground floor. As well as this, each house has a first floor terrace apartment, with a separate staircase entrance. The idea is that grandparents live in one self-contained section, children in another and the rest of the family in the main house. Other houses in the development include five-bedroom properties with a two-bedroom house in the back garden – either for children and their young families, or again for grandparents.

There are similar developments cropping up all over the country, all due for completion in 2008. However if you’re not keen on having your whole family living under one roof, a new luxury development in Cambridge has houses with separate annexes on the opposite side of the road!

A problem shared
For those first-time buyers desperate to fly the nest, a huge trend in 2008 will be shared ownership, a house buying scheme first set up by the Government in 1990. The scheme was originally targeted at key workers such as nurses and firemen, but has recently been re-launched to benefit those first-time buyers who are finding it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder. Now a sizable proportion of every new housing development has to be given up to “affordable housing”, which means a shared ownership scheme.

The process works by letting buyers purchase a percentage of a new home, say 25 per cent, and pay rent on the rest. The rented part of the property is owned by the Registered Social Landlord (formerly the Housing Association). As the buyer becomes more established, they can buy a bigger share of the property, for example, 5 per cent more per year, in a process known as “staircasing”, until the property is theirs. Any first-time buyer can qualify for the scheme in their local area, provided they genuinely cannot afford to purchase a house in the conventional way.

Mortgage lenders are already beginning to offer provisions to help buyers set up home in this way, and as the scheme expands in the coming year, more and more lenders will begin to offer loans on shared ownership basis.

Shop, shop shop!
So what will we be buying for our homes come Boxing Day?! The eco-trend looks set to continue past energy saving – Fairtrade furniture and fabrics will be everywhere. Designers are increasingly producing their goods in an environmentally friendly way, and using eco-friendly materials like grasses and recycled wood. One design company is even offering customers the opportunity to return their furniture when they no longer need it – the company then refurbishes the items and sell it again.

Also hot for 2008 will be leather upholstery and metal finishes. Lamps and curtain rails made from copper and brass will be the highlight of the design year, complemented by metallic wallpapers and silver accessories.

As always, the biggest savings to be made this January will be in the DIY stores. Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms are all expected to be slashed to half price as soon as the doors open on Boxing Day. Sofas will be reduced to less than half price and carpets will have almost 70 per cent off! Huge savings can also be made on appliances and electricals in the sales, so save your money ‘til then and grab some bargains!

For more information please visit www.homeimprovementquotes.co.uk