Barking and Dagenham crowned top property renovation hotspot

The latest property renovation hotspots list revealed that Barking and Dagenham is the top location for an increase in renovation applications in the past two years.

According to home service marketplace, Plentific.com, the East London borough was top of the table for the highest increase (114%) in householder development applications since 2015. Other popular commuter renovation zones included Newham, Croydon, Havering, Sutton, Waltham Forest, Bexley, Enfield, Greenwich and Harrow.

The national planning application statistics, taken from Gov.uk, showed that almost all of the top five areas on the list are north east borough, within commuting distance of the capital.

The second-highest increase was Luton with 59%, closely followed by Milton Keynes (54%) and Wokingham taking the fourth spot with a 42% increase in planning applications. Hull was the only area in the north of England to make the list. Standing at number seven, it saw a 40% increase in planning applications.

Poole was further down the table, coming eighth with an increase of 36%. Bournemouth trailed slightly behind with a 34% increase, showing that homeowners don’t just favour its sandy beaches. This fresh data shows the eruption of renovation projects in the south.

Spokesperson for Plentific, Stephen Jury, commented: “We’ve seen a large increase in demand for bigger renovation projects in many areas over the last two years. With house prices seeing substantial rise in recent times, the logical option for many homeowners is to stay and improve, rather than move.”

“For others, moving up the ladder might not be an option due to price, so they must instead think about expanding their current home.”

Focusing on areas in the capital, Newham came second to Barking and Dagenham with an increase of 41%, while Croydon ranked third with a 32% increase. Other London boroughs in the top ten include Havering in fourth place with 30%, Sutton (27%), Waltham Forest (26%), Bexley (25%), Enfield (20%), Greenwich (18%) and Harrow (17%).

On the other end of the spectrum, Islington showed the largest downfall in planning applications with a 28% decrease. Tower Hamlets wasn’t far behind, with a decrease of 18%.

Northern and Midlands locations made up the bulk of areas featured for a decrease, despite the top two locations being London based. Hartlepool was third with 15%, followed by Bracknell Forest (14%) and Stoke-on-Trent (14%).

Westminster and Camden were towards the bottom of the list with a 13% decrease, while Wandsworth, Redcar and Cleveland, and Halton took last place with 10%.

Jury added: “The fact is, many homeowners now look at a large garden, garage or loft as an opportunity to renovate, with the majority thinking of it as an investment in the future value of a property.”

“Plus, with the boom in property prices, there are also plenty of property developers looking at opportunities from making profit from renovations.”

The statistics suggest that homeowners in the north east of London appear to be the most content with their home location, opting to upgrade their properties rather than sell and move elsewhere.

While the majority of north east boroughs in London are popular faces for renovations, Hackney is the least likely place to find homeowners renovating, coming seventh.