DIY Fever hits after a night on the couch

Australia is in the throes of a renovations boom, with estimates $10 billion of renovations will take place in NSW this year alone and even our television schedules are being remodelled by a plethora of DIY shows. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has watched the value of large alterations to houses in NSW reported, or applied for through council development applications, rise in 2010 to $2.25 billion, up 11 per cent on the total in 2009 of $1.99 billion.

It's impossible to know the exact numbers, yet all the indications are that people are increasingly turning to DIY renovations to make their money go further. There are certainly more owner builders, who at least project-manage the work. 'The number of people doing their own renovations as owner-builders has really jumped, particularly in the last six months.

The renovations boom is happening because people are choosing to do up their existing houses rather than move. When you move house it costs $30,000 to $50,000 in costs and stamp duty, so people are seeing real value in renovating instead.

The wealth of information on renovating in newspapers, magazines, websites and particularly TV shows is driving the DIY boom. On TV, Channel Nine's five-nights-a-week The Block began late last month and its weekly Top Design started a couple of weeks ago, while Ten's The Renovators is airing six nights a week. Meanwhile, ABC has its own solid-rating Grand Designs.

People are now just staying home more and nesting, the executive producer of The Renovators, Judy Smart, says. ''We're helping demystify renovations and make them accessible with lots of tips on how to do it, and it's so satisfying to be in a home that you've put so much blood, sweat and tears into improving,'' says Smart.

And don't stress out if it doesn't work out, says one of The Block renovators, Waz (reality TV show contestants are only known by their first names until they finish). ''You've got to have fun with it,'' he says. ''If you make a mistake, paint over it, or take those blinds that don't work back and exchange them for ones that do. Don't blow mistakes out of proportion.''

So if you are inspired to renovate you home, but don't have the funds to right now, why not call Home Loans Australia? We can give your home loan a free health check, and determine how much equity you have in your home to spruce up the kitchen,  bathroom or everything! Call us on 1300 HOME OZ for a fee-free and obligation-free consultation.

Quotes and statistics thanks to www.domain.com.au