More than half of homeowners who have considered moving in the past year have paused their plans due to the high costs involved, research from Santander has revealed.

Some 57 per cent have made the choice to stay put, while 31 per cent decided to renovate their homes instead of moving to avoid an onslaught of stamp duty, solicitor and estate agent costs.

Homeowners in Wales had the highest home improvement rate – with 6.43 planning applications submitted for every 1,000 homes last year.

Scotland follows in second place with 5.94 planning applications per 1,000 homes.

Single storey rear extensions, single storey side extensions and loft conversions are popular in these areas, as people choose to upgrade their homes instead of moving.

Homeowners in Wales and Scotland also plan to spend an average of £11,000 making their upgrades this year. 

But applications for home office projects have taken a dive since the pandemic, as employees return to their workplaces. 

They've plummeted by 55 per cent between 2021 and 2024 in Scotland and 27 per cent in Wales.

All areas of England had less than 1 planning application submitted per 1,000 homes in 2024.

The North West had the lowest number of home improvements – with 0.2 applications submitted for every 1,000 homes. At the opposite end of the country, the South East had just 0.23 for every 1,000.

David Morris, head of homes at Santander, says: 'Given the projected surge in house prices in areas such as Scotland, as well as the cost of moving increasing significantly in recent years, it's not surprising that these homeowners are investing in renovations to add value to their properties.'