How to add value to your house in 2024

How to add value to your house is something that many savvy homeowners will consider in the UK. Property prices have risen significantly in recent years and, although we are now seeing a price correction, the next step of the property ladder is still incredibly difficult to reach without the financial boost of adding significant value to your current home. With the cost of materials and labour increasing, however, it is important to be wise about which home improvement tasks you undertake to increase the value of your property. In this guide we will look at some of the most popular value-adding home improvement tasks and tell you which ones are likely to offer the best return on your investment.

Adding value to your house

In this guide

  1. Understanding the current value of your home
  2. How to add value to your house when there’s a labour and materials shortage
  3. How to add value to your house with a loft conversion
  4. Adding value to your house by adding a garage
  5. Create an extra room by converting an existing garage
  6. How to add value with a new kitchen or bathroom
  7. Adding a garden office to add value to your house
  8. Increase your living space and house value with a single storey extension
  9. Are conservatories still a good addition to your home if you want to add value?
  10. How to add value to your house on a budget
  11. Conclusion:

Understanding the current value of your home

If you’re keen to explore what adds value to your house, it’s important that you understand its current value , as well as the value of similar homes that have already been improved and awareness of the ceiling price for homes in the area.

A great way to explore this is with the use of online valuation tools and recent sold prices for similar properties in the local area. This, of course, will not be a fully accurate valuation of your property, but will help to provide some ballpark figures. Looking at the highest recent sold price for a similar property in your area will help to give you an idea of how much your home could be worth with the right improvements and help you decide whether your planned changes are financially prudent.

How to add value to your house when there’s a labour and materials shortage

Tradespeople have had several challenges to contend with in the last few years, including the global pandemic, Brexit and the Russia-Ukraine war. The impact of these challenges has been both cost and resource-based.

If you’re planning to carry out home improvements because you want to add value to your house, it’s important that you only consider tasks that are cost effective.

Below is a list of some of the most common home improvement jobs in the UK, detailing how much the cost of these jobs has increased and how much value you can expect each task to add to your property.

Home improvement Average cost pre-pandemicCurrent average costValue it could add to your property
Loft conversion £30,000£48,00010-20%
Add garage (single, pitched roof)£15,000£25,0005-10%
Garage conversion £10,000£13,75010%
New kitchen £6,000£10,55010%
New bathroom £5,000£8,0004-5%
Garden office £20,000£28,0005-10%
Single storey extension £30,000£42,75010-20%
Conservatory £9,000£14,2507%

How to add value to your house with a loft conversion

If you want to add an extra room to your house without losing any outdoor space, a loft conversion is a great option.

Converting your loft uses what is effectively dead space and can add as much as 20% to the value of your property. Loft conversions are particularly popular because the space will often allow for a reasonably sized bedroom and an ensuite bathroom, creating a useful new master bedroom for the home.

Adding value to your house by adding a garage

Storage space can be a real challenge in family homes. Adding a garage to your property can offer a practical, low-cost solution that will also enable you and any future owners to keep clutter out of the house.

Whilst building a new garage is not the cheapest home addition, at around £25,000, it can add 5-10% onto the value of your property. To find out whether the addition of a garage would make financial sense, it’s worth speaking to a local estate agent about the value it might add to your specific property.

Create an extra room by converting an existing garage

A garage conversion can be a cost-effective way to add additional living space to your property. Because the foundations and shell are already in place, a garage conversion is significantly cheaper than building a traditional extension.

You will lose storage space, so it’s important to think through how the garage is currently used and where you will store the items currently kept in the garage. You’ll also need to consider the limitations of converting a garage in terms of space. By the time the walls are insulated and plastered, you can expect to lose around 12cm from each wall. If converting a single garage, that can lead to quite a small room that may have limited uses. If you’re looking to gain a home office or a playroom, it can be an ideal home improvement, but if you want an additional living room or dining room, a traditional extension may be a better solution for your needs.

How to add value with a new kitchen or bathroom

A new kitchen or bathroom can be a great update and can add value to your home if done well.

If your keen to add value to your house, it’s important to use high quality fixtures and fittings, and try to stay fairly neutral so the changes appeal to the widest audience possible. Also, try to avoid current ‘trends’ that will date the rooms quickly.

Adding a garden office to add value to your house

People’s expectations of work-life balance have changed significantly since the pandemic, and many workers now expect an option to work from home (at least part of the week) as standard.

The addition of a garden office, which gives owners the ability to work comfortably from home but in a separate space from the living area, can be a great addition and make your house more valuable and more desirable. A typical good quality garden office, fitted out with electricity, can cost around £28,000 and is likely to add between 5% and 10% to the value of your property.

Increase your living space and house value with a single storey extension

Single storey extensions have been a popular addition to many British homes in the last few years, especially those that enable the homeowner to create a large hybrid kitchen/dining/living space. Spending more time at home during the pandemic created increased desire for large, sociable spaces in the home that can be used in a variety of ways.

An increase in the cost of building materials means a medium size single storey extension (4m x 5m) is now likely to cost £40,000-plus. Whilst not a small outlay, an extension of this size could have a big impact on how your property works for you and can add between 10% and 20% to the value of your property.

Are conservatories still a good addition to your home if you want to add value?

Whilst conservatories are not as popular as they were 10-20 years ago, they can still be a welcome addition to your home if they are of a high quality. At a cost of around £15,000, a good quality conservatory can be a cost-effective way to add more space to your home. A high-quality conservatory can add around 7% to the value of your property.

How to add value to your house on a budget

Adding value to your property when you’re on a tight budget is all about making it more ‘sellable’. There are some simple and inexpensive home improvements tasks that can immediately make your property more desirable to buyers in the UK.

Redecorate

A simple lick of paint can transform a property. Try to keep your paint colours neutral to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

New flooring

Stained or damaged flooring is a huge turnoff for potential buyers and immediately devalues your home. If you want to add value to your home, it’s important that you present it to would-be buyers ‘move-in ready’.

Declutter

Decluttering is a cheap and effective way to broaden the appeal of your home to potential buyers. It will immediately make it easier for any buyers to envisage themselves and their possessions in the property, and make it more sellable. It is important not to make the home too sparse, however, as too few possessions can also make it tricky for buyers to envisage what their life would look like in the house.

Refresh kitchen / bathroom

Whilst installing a new kitchen or bathroom can be a big investment, it is possible to refresh these areas of your home on a budget. Painting, rather than replacing, kitchen cabinets can make a big difference in just a few days. You could also consider replacing any worktop that is dating your kitchen and replacing or re-grouting tiles.

Bathrooms will benefit from cleaned or replaced grout and can be freshened up on a budget with some simple, inexpensive accessories.

Kerb appeal

Most would-be buyers will make a decision on a property in the first 20 seconds of viewing it, so it is imperative that you ensure your property has maximum kerb appeal. Keep bins out of sight, make sure your windows and front door are sparkling and add a bit of greenery to create an inviting property entrance.

Conclusion:

There are several factors that mean it is now more challenging to add value to your house. Rising material and labour costs mean many of the most common home improvement tasks now cost far more than they did just a year or two ago.

It is still possible to add value to most homes with the right home improvements, but it is undoubtedly more difficult. It is important to think carefully about whether the money you spend on improvements will be recoverable if prices continue to decline. If the value that is likely to be added to the property is not significantly greater than the cost of the work, it may not be worth carrying out the work. If you buy properties as an investment rather than to live in yourself, you may be better to make your current property as desirable as possible without taking on any major tasks, and seek a fast house sale. You can then wait until you find another property with greater value-adding potential before you re-buy.

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Author:

Beth Lane

Beth Lane

As an integral part of the marketing team, Beth is responsible for creating Quick Move Now’s external communications and dealing with national and regional press enquiries.

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