Why are people sharing £10 tricks to make rented rooms feel like home while house prices keep soaring beyond reach? The answer lies in a housing market that's creating two distinct classes: those who own property and watch their wealth grow, and those who rent and get creative with fairy lights.

House prices rose 5.7% in 2021, pushing the average from £1.4 billion to £1.47 billion across local authorities. That percentage sounds modest until you realise it represents £79 million in additional value being created in the typical area. (Source: Office for National Statistics, House prices by local authority)

For homeowners, that's wealth appearing from thin air. Your three-bed semi didn't get bigger or better, but it's worth thousands more than last year. Meanwhile, renters face the same higher prices when they try to buy, making homeownership even more distant.

The trajectory tells the story of a market pulling away from ordinary incomes. In 2017, average local house prices sat at £1.34 billion. By 2021, they'd climbed to £1.47 billion. That's £130 million in additional value created in just four years, all while wages stagnated and young people moved back in with parents.

This explains the boom in renter life hacks. When you can't afford to buy somewhere to make your own, you make do with what you can control: removable wallpaper, battery-powered lights, furniture that doesn't require drilling into walls your landlord owns.

The divide isn't just financial anymore. It's psychological. Homeowners scroll through Rightmove watching their net worth climb. Renters scroll through the same site, watching affordability slip further away, then pivot to articles about making rented spaces feel less temporary.

What's particularly brutal is the timing. These price rises happened during a cost-of-living crisis when people were choosing between heating and eating. Yet property values kept climbing, making the thing most people need most - a stable, affordable home - even more expensive.

The £10 room makeover trend isn't really about interior design. It's about people trying to create a sense of home and stability in a market that's priced them out of both. When you can't buy security, you buy fairy lights instead.