Paula John: Market News

GOING UP...

The number of people visiting DIY websites. Hitwise, a service that monitors website usage, claims that visits to home and garden retailer sites increased from 0.40 per cent to 0.59 per cent of all web visits from August 2007 to the same time this year. Visits to estate agent sites fell from 0.85 per cent to 0.55 per cent of all visits over the same period. Searches for the 10 most popular DIY-related "how to" queries have risen by 25 per cent in the last three months. Website search behaviour is also reflecting the drop off in demand for property, with searches for the term "houses for sale" down 53.1 per cent over the year.

GOING DOWN...

The cost of borrowing – as Nationwide, HSBC, Yorkshire Building Society, the Co-operative Bank and Abbey have all reduced their mortgage rates in the past week. Ten of the UK's 12 biggest lenders have cut their two- or three-year fixed-rate deals at least once during the past two weeks, as lenders once again fight for business. Abbey, the latest lender to announce rate cuts, is also slashing the size of the fees on some of its deals by up to £1,000, saying the market environment has improved to such an extent that it no longer needs to make such punitive charges.

GO FIGURE... 80,000

The number of homeowners who could benefit from the relaxation of planning rules. As of next month, anyone wishing to add a rear extension or convert a loft will be able to do so without planning permission. Extensions of up to two storeys will be allowed as long as they don't extend more than 10 feet from the back of a property, and loft conversions will be permitted without planning consent, provided they extend no more than 7in from the eaves. The Government claims that the rule change will save many homeowners from having to move home.

Paula John is editor-in-chief of Your Mortgage