Recent trading updates from various builders’ merchants and building supplies companies suggest homeowners are no longer spending as freely on ‘doing up the house’ as they were during the pandemic.

When everyone was cooped up at home in the first half of 2020 with cash to spare and DIY stores were classed as ‘essential’ and were therefore allowed to open, spending on home improvement sky-rocketed even as overall spending declined.

However, rising food and energy costs together with higher mortgage costs means those who were saving for a new kitchen, bathroom or extension are now having to dip into their reserves just to keep the lights on.

On 7 October patio and paving firm Marshalls (MSLH) reported a sharp decline in sales to the home renovation and DIY market in the three months to September, sending its shares tumbling 16% to a five-year low.

The company said landscape product revenues slumped 16% in the third quarter compared with 1% at the half year stage due to ‘a marked softening of demand for private housing RMI (repair, maintenance and improvement) in both the UK and international markets’.

The latest government figures from the ONS (Office for National Statistics) show sales of DIY equipment including hardware, paint and glass have been falling for seven straight months in value terms despite much higher prices.

In its trading statement last month, home improvement retailer Wickes (WIX) confirmed it had seen ‘a softening of the DIY market’ over the summer, although it stuck to its sales forecast for the full year.

DIY rival Kingfisher (KGF) saw its revenues drop in the three months to mid-September but said sales of outdoor, kitchen and bathroom ranges at its B&Q stores had remained ‘resilient’.

Both firms expanded their DIFM (do-it-for-me) offering in kitchens and bathrooms as a means of generating extra income after the pandemic triggered a boom in demand for home improvements.

Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins (TPK) is due to update the market on current trading on 20 October.

In August, the firm warned that its Toolstation power tool and hardware business had seen a big drop in sales as the DIY market ground to a halt, so investors need to keep an eye out for this next update.

Kitchen specialist Howden Joinery (HWDN) is scheduled to publish its next trading update at the start of November.

In its update for the six months to 30 June the company talked up the market for UK kitchen and joinery products, but clearly the market has changed in the last three months and there is a risk the firm could disappoint.

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