November 2004
According to recent figures released by Bank of England*, the number of mortgage approvals fell in one month by 10,000 to 89,000, the lowest since August 2000. A recent report from one of the larger high street building societies* found that buyers who want to move up the property ladder are facing the toughest conditions for 10 years.

So, have the UK homeowners decided to stay put and invest in their current properties? Recent search results from www.thomsonlocal.com, Thomson Directories online directory, would suggest this to be the case, with the search for ‘Builders' increasing by 59% in the last 3 months.

“These search trends provide us with a valuable indicator of consumer intent and market trends”, comments Louise Perry, Internet Product Manager, Thomson Directories. “Heightened interest in the home improvements market, stimulated by the level of television exposure afforded to this activity has no doubt contributed to these online usage trends, as has the ease with which this type of information can now be sourced.”

By entering the relevant search word, such as ‘builders', www.thomsonlocal.com users are able instantly to access details of suppliers in these sectors. By adding the name of the town in which they live, users can access those suppliers and services most local to them. Many online business listings on www.thomsonlocal.com offer links to their websites, which provide more information on that business to the user. An increasing number of companies listed also provide an email facility for users to contact them direct.

“These are time saving tools for the user which have no doubt contributed greatly to the popularity of Internet use in these sectors”, adds Louise Perry.

*Information taken from www.news.bbc.co.uk 29/10/04 , quoting the Nationwide Building Society report.

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