NEWS · Housing Market
Rental Standards Are Tightening: What Tenants Can Now Ask For
New enforcement rules shift responsibility for cold, damp homes back to landlords. Here is how to use them.
The Housing Market Is Cooling — What That Means If You Are Renovating
Softer prices, cheaper trades, and a narrower window where kitchens still pay back.
By Sofia Lindqvist, Design Director · Published August 17, 2026 · 2 min read
Photograph: Matt Bango / StockSnap
A cooler market changes the maths of home improvement in both directions: builders quote more competitively, but resale premiums shrink. The surveyors we spoke to agree on which projects survive that squeeze — insulation, heating and bathrooms — and which no longer do.
Trades are quoting again
Lead times on kitchen fitters have fallen from months to weeks in most regions, and second quotes are coming in materially lower than first ones. Always get three.
Where the money still comes back
Fabric-first work — loft and cavity insulation, glazing, a right-sized heat pump — holds value because it lowers running costs a buyer can see on a bill.
Where it does not
Full structural reconfiguration and high-spec appliance packages are the first premiums buyers stop paying for in a soft market.
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