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Slovakia: We make our homes cosier

8 July 2009 – Less than half of the Slovak population is planning to invest in making their homes more comfortable and cosy in the next 12 months. People most frequently think of painting the interior or exterior of their flat/house, construction modifications, refurbishing or simply making their homes cosier overall. Stagnation in the real estate market has led to the situation when people put off large investments, however, they try to provide the most pleasant and comfortable environment for themselves and their loved ones and they don’t hesitate to invest considerable amounts in refurbishing and modernising their existing homes. These are some of the findings of a representative survey conducted face-to-face in May this year on a sample comprising 1000 people aged 15 to 79.

People want to feel as comfortable as possible in their homes and they often substitute their dreams of new or perhaps better houses or flats with the above-mentioned activities. Therefore only a small number of people are currently planning to purchase a property in the near future: a little less than 4 percent of all respondents indicated they were planning to buy a plot of land, house, flat, weekend home, a garden or a garage in the next 12 months. Since a number of people simply cannot afford moving ‘into a better place’ in the current situation or perhaps they cannot fulfil their dreams of new homes, they shift their attention to making their existing homes cosier, refurbishing and modernising them. The latest trend is making one’s flats/houses more beautiful and altering them to one’s own ideas in order to make them as pleasant and comfortable as possible for all family members. Also, as a result of the financial crisis, the number of the so called ‘cocoons’ or ‘homebodies’, who prefer spending their leisure time at home is on the rise.

When looking at making one’s home cosier and more comfy, the painting of interiors or exteriors is at the top with 14 percent of all households planning this activity in the next 12 months. Approximately one in ten households is planning to carry out various construction modifications while another tenth are thinking of overall modernisation of their home and another 9 percent speak of investing in making their house/flat generally cosier. Roughly 8 percent of all households are planning to replace their home textiles and a little less then 8 percent are planning to buy new furniture. One in five respondents indicated that that had recently carried out similar activities in their homes.

In relation to the above-mentioned changes, people most often get inspiration in various magazines about homes and housing (56 %). Approximately 42 draw their ideas from the homes of other people. TV also plays its role, since roughly 30 percent of Slovaks get their ideas there. Other sources of inspiration and places to get new ideas include furniture stores (28 %), catalogues (25 %), the Internet (17 %) and various exhibitions (7 %).

Contact

Daniela Cekovská
Marketing Communication Manager
Tel: +421 2 52 49 95 83
Fax: +421 2 52 49 96 13
Mobile: +421 902 920 948
Email: daniela.cekovska@gfk.com