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Loans firm detects decline in home upgrades

The home improvement market has been hit hard by the credit crunch, a loans firm has suggested.

According to HomePro Money, the ongoing financial crisis - which has made lenders as a whole more tentative about extending credit - has led to an overall drop in loans being taken out over the past few months.

Many loans firms have raised their rates of interest to reflect the newly-conservative mood engendered by the ongoing crunch.

Operations director at the loans firm Mark Brayford said: "The way the market is at the moment, there are constraints from the finance companies and also a lack of movement in the property market."

However, the loans specialist added that the market had not seen any shift in trends among customers due to the credit crunch.

"The major market is still kitchens and double glazing," he added.

"We are actually trying to convince the lenders to look at different products, especially greener products like residential wind farms and solar panelling; non-traditional items that not only will improve their market, but will also benefit the individual consumer."

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