Good time to improve as housing market stagnates

Now may be a good time to improve the home by adding a bespoke lean-to conservatory.

Recent figures show just how stagnant the property market has become, with only 35,000 new mortgages issued across the UK in the month of September.

The statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reflect a massive 57 per cent drop since September 2007 and a 15 per cent drop over Augusts figures.

CML director general Michael Coogan explained that banks are having to be extremely careful about what they do with their money.

"Banks and building societies do want to support homeowners, but they have limited funds available and are, quite reasonably, taking a prudent approach to risk," he said.

The Bank of Englands Monetary Policy Committee recently announced a record 1.5 per cent drop in the base interest rate and, if this is passed on to consumers, it could mean home-owners would have access to cheaper loans with which they could build a lean-to or glazed extension.