Europeans spent more on home improvement

Spending by European private households on home improvement went up by 4.3 per cent last year. In total the Dutch market research company USP ascertained a market volume of € 452.6 bn. However this sum doesn't only include spending on materials, but also labour costs for tradesmen who were commissioned by private persons for their home improvement projects. At € 103.8 bn the volume in the third quarter was the largest; but it was also the only quarter to record a drop compared to the previous year (-0.5 per cent). These figures were presented by Reinier Zuydgeest from USP at the Global DIY Summit in Stockholm last week.