Cost of making a house feel like a home ‘is £15,419 on average’

Britons spend an average of just over £15,000 transforming a new house into a home, research suggests.

Home owners typically spend £15,419 putting their own stamp on a property after they first move into it, a survey from Sarah Beeny’s estate agent Tepilo.com found.

The living-room is most likely to be tackled first after moving in, followed by the kitchen and main bedroom, the research found.

On average, it takes them three-and-a-half months to unpack all of their belongings after moving in.

It typically takes four months for a new house to feel like a home, the research among more than 2,000 people found.

The first five jobs people are most likely to immediately tackle after moving in are sorting out the broadband, TV and phone, cleaning, putting the bed up, calling utility suppliers and putting up blinds and curtains, according to the survey.

A quarter (25%) of people change the locks straight away after moving in.

When it comes to larger scale home improvement projects, decorating, getting new carpets and flooring, and transforming the garden are key priorities for home buyers.

More than a quarter (28%) of those surveyed put in a new bathroom, while 25% rip out the existing kitchen and 20% invest in new windows.

Nearly one in five (18%) of those surveyed also did something to change the layout of their home, while one in eight (12%) extended to create extra space, Tepilo’s British Buyer Barometer found.