The million dollar question: to move or improve?

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Now the market has turned, the million-dollar question is - to move or improve?

House prices in Britain jumped three-fold since 1996 but are now falling at the fastest rate since the recession of early 1990s and sales have slumped.

At the same time, the credit crunch has seen lenders batten down the hatches on cheap and accessible home loans.

Against that background, many homeowners are sitting tight, in the hope that conditions will improve.

Others, however, are planning to move to take advantage of the falling property market - either trading up to a larger property at what they hope will be a bargain price or selling out to rent and wait for the market to bottom out before they buy in again.

Around 13 percent of homeowners - some 3.25 million people - are looking to move house over the next year, despite the housing market downturn, according to Alliance & Leicester.

But the trend for improving to increase value is also continuing, according to its poll of 2,035 adults: 19 percent of homeowners say they will make improvements to their home in the next 12 months to add value or increase saleability.

A further 50 percent of homeowners are making home improvements simply to better their living conditions and avoid the expense and upheaval of moving elsewhere.

Richard Taylor, head of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, says: "Even within the current climate, there are still millions of people who are looking to move and they are doing all they can to get the best price for their property.

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