Top 5 Ways to Add Value to Your Home

July 20th, 2023

Whenever I do a valuation, clients and potential clients will tell us about the improvements they have made, but unfortunately, not all improvements add value to your home.

However, if you’re living in a property, in my view any improvements should be done to improve the quality of your life, rather than increase the value, but it’s always a consideration – you don’t, after all, want to spend £200k on a property, for it only to add £100k. Well…some people might, but not many…

So here are the top 5 things that we think add value to your house

A New Kitchen

Fitting a new kitchen, although expensive, can add a heap of value to your house. Don’t go too crazy though – and make sure you fit a new kitchen that is suited to the type of house you have. For example, don’t go fitting a £20k kitchen to a 2 bedroom house that’s worth £200k. Similarly, don’t go fitting a £5k kitchen to your £5,000,000 4 bed family detached!

If you do it sensibly, so that it looks super modern, trendy and NOT CHEAP, then you can easily add between 5% and 10% to the value of your house. And with the cost of a kitchen being somewhere between £5k and £20k (depending on the size and specification), that’s not a bad deal

A couple of examples for you:

If I had a 2 bed terrace with an 8ft x 6ft kitchen worth £200,000, I would (hope to) fit a kitchen with fitted appliances for somewhere around the £6k – £7k mark tops. But I would expect to add £10k – £15k in value

In a £500,000 4 bed detached family home, I would fit a £20k kitchen and expect to add around £30k

New Bathroom

Similar to a kitchen, but slightly cheaper, it is seen as the second biggest expense to replace for a buyer when buying a house. Again, don’t go crazy with your bathroom if you are in a 2 bed. You don’t need to go that crazy in a 4 bed either. But try and fit in a separate shower cubicle if you can – buyers LOVE a separate shower cubicle.

You’re not likely to add the same amounts as a kitchen, but investing in a new bathroom should see a positive return on that investment

Converting your garage

Converting your garage is an easy way to add value to your house. It does slightly depend on whether you have to knock the garage down first or not, but if you don’t and it just literally needs an inner skin, some insulation and a window, then you’re off!

An extra room can add up to 10%, so on a £300k house with a garage, you could add £30k to the value. You might lose around £5k of value in not having a garage, but it’s more useable space for you and your family and it adds value. Do it!

Converting your loft

Another way to add value. But don’t do it on the cheap. If your loft isn’t big enough to convert don’t do it, because it will be frustrating to buyers who expect to see a ‘4 bedroom house’, but only consider it a ‘3 bed house with a weird un-useable loft room’. A great way to add value, but get advice before you just go ahead and do it

Add a conservatory

Again, conservatories can add some decent value for the cost of them. But there are some considerations. Make sure you have enough space in the back garden. If you lose too much garden because of your conservatory, then people won’t buy your house because ‘the garden is too small’. Secondly, can neighbours see into your conservatory – very off putting for potential buyers. And lastly, have you considered the heating set up – conservatories can get incredibly hot in the Summer and very cold in the Winter – think about whether you need air conditioning and heating because an un-useable conservatory adds no value at all…