How to Add Value to Your Home: What Works and What Doesn’t   

Whether or not home improvement projects will add value to your property can vary significantly. Factors such as the local property market and trends can affect the success of a project, and what works in one area might not work in another.

However, in general, focusing on home improvement projects that enhance the functionality and aesthetic appeal of your home will often yield the best returns. Below, we explore some home improvement projects that are likely to add value to your home and some that it might be best to avoid.

Which projects could add value to your home?

Projects that will add value to your home will typically involve those that can extend the square footage of the home, update old décor and appliances, and/or potentially enhance the lifestyle of the new buyers when they move in.

Adding off-street parking

Creating off-street parking can be a great way of boosting the value – in many cases, a driveway can boost the property value by 5%-10%. If your home has a front garden, it could be a much more efficient use of space to transform it into a driveway and also ensures your property stands out on the market.

Adding a driveway to your home will sometimes require you to obtain planning permission. This will require a fee to be paid, which can be around £200, on top of the costs of building the driveway, which can cost around £30-£90 per m². However, taking the time and money to create the driveway will often result in a higher property value, so it can definitely be worthwhile.

New kitchen

A new kitchen will often add value to your home, especially if your current kitchen is old and perhaps a little tired. In some cases, the kitchen might require only some minor updates. Simply repainting the cabinet doors and replacing a leaky tap can help to freshen up the space and make it more appealing. For other kitchens, a full remodel might be more appropriate to get the best value from your home.

If you choose to go for the full remodel route, you should consider what makes a comfortable, functional kitchen, such as having plenty of storage and maybe also space to sit and eat. At the same time, you’ll want to avoid putting in anything too bespoke or luxurious – the kitchen should reflect the rest of the home and also have a broad appeal.

A full kitchen renovation can cost anywhere between £6,000 and £50,000, depending on the size of the space and the work you have done. However, it has the potential to add 15% to the value of your home.

New bathroom

A new bathroom can also boost the value of your home when done correctly. Changing the layout of your bathroom and moving pipes around could be costly, but even replacing a few items like the bathtub, toilet, sink, and cabinets can make a big difference. You could also consider repainting the room and retiling, or at least regrouting to freshen up the space.

A bathroom remodel can cost anywhere between £1,500 and £7,500, depending on the size of the room. You could find that jobs like painting could be done yourself, but sometimes you might prefer to get a professional in if your DIY skills maybe aren’t up to scratch. A new bathroom could potentially add between 3% and 5% to the property value.

Loft conversion

Converting the loft into a liveable space can be a great way of adding value to your property, especially for smaller homes. It can be a simple way of adding another bedroom to the home, which can make it instantly more appealing to potential buyers.

The cost of converting a loft will vary significantly depending on the size of the space and whether you’re adding a bathroom or not. In some cases, you might need planning permission, such as if you need to alter the structure of the roof. Typically, it can cost between £22,000 to £75,000+, but has the potential to increase the value of your home by 15%.

Energy-efficient upgrades

An energy-efficient home will save the buyer money in their utility bills, which will make your property much more appealing. More buyers are prioritising energy efficiency in their homes, so taking the time to make some improvements to your property can help to boost its value.

You can start with smaller upgrades, such as improving the insulation in the attic and repairing any blown double glazing. Drafty doors can be replaced with new internal doors and external doors, which will not only help to insulate rooms but will also improve the visual appeal of your home. Adding solar panels to your home can be a big job, but It could increase your home’s value by 4%, so it may be worthwhile in some cases.

Which projects could negatively impact the value of your home?

There are some projects that might actually negatively impact the value of your home and put potential buyers off. These are typically projects that involve a lot of bespoke aspects that might not be suited to a broad range of people, as well as projects that take away some of the functionality of the home.

Garage conversion

You might think that a garage conversion will be a good way of expanding the living space of a home, potentially adding another bedroom or home office, which can be enticing for buyers. However, in many areas, buyers would prefer to have a garage, especially in places where parking might be scarce. Garages also often provide extra storage space, which can be more appealing to people.

You should consider the area you live in and your current property before you opt for a garage conversion. If you live somewhere that has plenty of off-street parking and ample storage, converting the garage may be beneficial. But in other situations, it will be best to leave the garage as it is.

Too-large bathroom

Whilst refreshing aspects of the bathroom can help to boost the appeal, going for a full remodel could have the opposite effect. A large, luxurious bathroom will be seen as impractical by many potential buyers, and they could look at it as space wasted that could have been used for a bedroom.

If you think your bathroom needs a remodel, keep things simple and think about using the space efficiently. You should opt for quality fittings and fixtures, but you don’t need to go too high-end as you won’t typically see a good ROI for this.

Bespoke features

If you have a hobby, it can be great to change a spare room into a space dedicated to this hobby, for example, installing a home gym, dance studio, or sewing room. However, for potential buyers, this can be off-putting. Most will have to convert the room back into a more general-use room, which can be a pain. If you have a bespoke hobby room, it might be best to turn it back into a bedroom or general-use room before you sell.

If you remodel the bathroom and kitchen, you should also avoid installing anything too bespoke. These types of features will often cost more, and if they’re not to the taste of potential buyers, it could mean they don’t make an offer on your home. Instead, keep any projects and improvements simple and think about appealing to a wide audience.

Conservatory

You might think that a conservatory is an easy way of adding more square footage to a home. However, they can actually be quite expensive to install and will often go underused by residents. Conservatories can be too hot in the height of summer and too cold in the winter, which greatly reduces how many days in a year they can be utilised, so they might not be appealing to a lot of potential buyers.

It’s often a better decision to not undergo the expense of extending your property to increase its value, and instead focus on making improvements on the space already established.

JB Kind has a huge range of interior doors for your home improvement projects. Download our brochure or contact us to find out more.