Whether you are thinking of selling your home, or you want to invest in some smart renovation that brings a return, increasing the value of your property is always a good idea.
At the very least, it ensures your property reaches its full financial potential, and at most, you could enhance its value far beyond figures you ever expected. Of course, any old improvements won’t do if you truly want to boost the value of the place that you love the most. If your eye is truly on the prize and you’re wanting to raise the value of your home as much as possible, you’ll want to consider doing the following:
A Loft Extension
Loft extensions are a great home improvement idea for any suitable home, but especially those with limited garden space (1 in 8 UK households has no garden, which rises to 1 in 5 in London). Personal benefits include the following:
- More living space
- Multiple styles available
- Access to surrounding views
- Energy efficient
- Can be completed very quickly
- Can be used for various purposes
- No garden space used
However, what we’re all here for today is the extra financial value a home improvement adds, so let's get down to the brass tax.
Loft extensions can add around 21% onto the value of a property. Add to that the average value of rental income in your area (around £800 pounds on average in London), the money saved not needing to move home for more room, and the average value of an extra room in your area (about 15% of the property value or more), and it’s easy to see the huge amount of value in a professional loft conversion.
Landscaping
During the Covid-19 pandemic, any natural outdoor space at all became so incredibly precious - particularly personal outdoor space such as a balcony or garden.
One study suggested that around 60% of us would visit our garden at least once a day during lockdown, where 43% did gardening, 27% rested, 21% read, 14% watched or fed wildlife, 13% listened to music or podcasts, and 11% simply enjoyed the weather.
Whilst lockdowns are now, thankfully, behind us, the lust for a gorgeous garden is higher than ever. Maximising any outdoor space that you have is quite essential if you want to boost your house value. You can do this with professional landscaping, which can add over 75% onto the value of your home, which is quite mind blowing really, especially as the cost to have landscaping is in the low thousands (on average), compared to more substantial home improvements.
A Conservatory
A conservatory is a stunning, bright, warm and spacious structural addition to a property. They make sense if you have ample outdoor space and want to extend in a way that works with the garden, as the glass used in the design creates an ‘outdoors in’ feel.
You can use the space as a sitting area, somewhere to grow plants, as a home office and games room - the list is endless, especially if you invest in temperature control systems that avoid that extreme temperature problem which is common with these kinds of spaces.
In terms of the added value, it does depend on the position of your house, the conservatory design and surrounding garden space, but on average you could get around a 10% increase on your house value with this kind of home improvement.
If you want to splash out a touch more for a better return, you may want to consider having an orangery fitted instead as they cost more to fit, but tend to add more value than a conservatory.
Eco-Friendly Features
Three quarters of us in the UK actively worry about things like climate change, and spend time worrying about the environment overall.
In the media, across the supermarket shelves, in the curriculum and social media, we can all see, hear and feel a shift in our global attitude towards the planet. It’s no longer a niche type of person who fights to do better for the earth- it’s now fairly clear we all need to do our bit to make improvements and stop things getting any worse.
For these reasons, it’s no surprise that around 70% of house buyers these days appreciate an eco-friendly house feature, with the most popular features being:
- Wall insulation
- Renewable energy sources
- Double or triple glazing
Potential homeowners recognise the value in a home that is kinder to the planet, but also that eco-friendly features also tend to result in savings in the house running costs - something that is invaluable in such a challenging time where energy bills in particular are skyrocketing.
When it comes to the financial value of a home, it can be boosted by nearly £30,000 with the right eco-friendly adjustments. There may also be a grant available to help you make these kinds of adjustments, something you can speak to your local council about to find out more.
Enhanced Kerb Appeal
Kerb appeal is something that often gets forgotten when a home is prepared for sale.
Larger home adjustments, painting, fixing-up, repairing - it’s all go before the house is photographed and listed, to hopefully lead to a flood of enquiries coming in for viewings.
Kerb appeal, however, has to be prioritised amongst all this preparation because it could add a massive 25% onto the value of your home.
So what does kerb appeal enhancement involve? Essentially, kerb appeal is all about making your home look fantastic from the front. Of course, it still needs to be great inside, but an exceptional front can be highly valuable and attractive to a potential house buyer.
To achieve a beautiful external house aesthetic, think about making repairs to any obvious damage, adding some external lighting, having the windows professionally cleaned, and even having the garden professionally planted and redone if it’s looking a bit worse for wear. A new door, gate and path can also enhance the way the front of a home looks, as well as a beautiful house number/ name sign and some well chosen pot plants.
Enhancing your home can result in its functional and aesthetic appeal improving, and most importantly, in its value going up, sometimes vast amounts. By being smart about how you choose to adjust and change your home you can maximise your investment and get exceptional returns, leading to some exciting offers flooding in come listing day.
