How much do home improvements increase a property's value.

[Blaby Loyal]

Currently actively engaged (i.e. arguing) with someone over the issue of how much things like new kitchens and conservatories add to a property's value.

The other side has got it into their heads that because they spent £15k on a conservatory then their property value has also increased by the same amount. Likewise they spent £10k on a kitchen ten years ago which I have dismissed pretty much altogether is it is nothing unique and is no longer as 'contemporary' as they claim.

 

[Newchodge]

A 10 year old kitchen would decrease a property's value, IMO.

The conservatory will have some effect but it won't increase the value by the cost paid.

Having said that, house valuation is not an exact science. A friend accepted an offer on her house, but the buyer's surveyor valued it at £11,000 under the agreed price. The buyer got a different surveyor who valued it at the agreed price!

 

[The Byre]

A house is one of those objects that suffers from the multiplier effect. Vintage cars are the same.

A house in a specific area will have a maximum value and you can add all the conservatories you like and throw in a dream kitchen and even an underground heated swimming pool and your own home cinema - if the max price for a house in that area is £200,000, then that's all you can hope to get.

On the other hand, if you have a house in an area where multi-million-dollar mansions are the rule, doing those things and more will be rewarded with an increase in value that is a multiple of what they cost.

Vintage cars - put £10,000 into renovating a VW 'Splitty' and you can get over £35,000 for it. Put £10,000 into renovating an MGB and it is still only worth £7,000 at the very most.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

A house in a specific area will have a maximum value and you can add all the conservatories you like and throw in a dream kitchen and even an underground heated swimming pool and your own home cinema - if the max price for a house in that area is £200,000, then that's all you can hope to get.

This is crucial. In the town I grew up there was a guy who built a house with a swimming pool and a cinema in it. That same house in the town I live now would be worth almost £1million, but because of where he built it he only managed to get a valuation of £250,000.

Conservatories can add value because they increase floorspace. Kitchens tend to add desirableness but not necessarily tangible value. The only sure fire way to change a house's value materially is to move it to a different postcode.

That being said, value is for surveyors to debate about - it doesn't really matter. Desirableness is what sells houses.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

I spent 7 years improving a London house and the resulting increase meant that I haven't needed a a mortgage since.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

That being said, value is for surveyors to debate about - it doesn't really matter. Desirableness is what sells houses.

One of the best ways to increase the sale price of a house is to park a Mercedes outside.

 

[Blaby Loyal]

What about a 20 tonne tipper truck?

 

[Mr D]

I find kitchens added to a house can increase value - where a house doesn't have a kitchen at all.
Changing a kitchen to me is the same as painting the walls - someone else can come in and make their own changes.

Conservatory - nice when added, changing the house value by the price is more suspect.

I got quotes for a conservatory, the design was similar enough (based on my specs and building limitations). Difference in price between cheapest and most expensive quote was about £15k.
Fitting the most expensive didn't add an extra £15k value over fitting cheapest. Maybe if name dropping adding a grand or two, maybe no difference.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

I spent 7 years improving a London house and the resulting increase meant that I haven't needed a a mortgage since.

When I was getting a new mortgage a few years back the person on the phone asked me if I've done anything to increase the value of the house, and I said "yes I've lived in it and paid the mortgage for 3 years while the market has improved"

 

[kulture]

Talk to a trusted! local estate agent. As said above, never extend your house beyond the typical house price in the local area. In the past I have added a bedroom and enlarged a bathroom. This really improved the house price more than the cost.

Keep the house in balance. If you add a bedroom or two, make sure you have enough reception rooms. Some people say you should have the same number or one less reception rooms to bedrooms. Certainly a house with 4 bedrooms and one reception room is out of balance and probably not at all desirable.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

Talk to a trusted! local estate agent.

trusted estate agents???? What is that?

 

[estwig]

Down here in sunny Gillingham, in the South East, conservatories add no value at all, they can even detract from the value of a property. Useless things too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter.

Loft conversions at approximately £30k, usually add that in value to the property, as do extensions, if done right. There are a lot of bodged loft conversions and extensions around, that don't have planning permission, or building control sign off. Iffy estate agents gloss over this, and punters get sucked into the purchase process and don't want to pull out, once they find the correct permissions are not in place.

 

[Blaby Loyal]

trusted estate agents???? What is that?

I can only think that it must mean one who has not tried to sleep with your wife or partner. I may be wrong.

 

[estwig]

Keep the house in balance. If you add a bedroom or two, make sure you have enough reception rooms. Some people say you should have the same number or one less reception rooms to bedrooms. Certainly a house with 4 bedrooms and one reception room is out of balance and probably not at all desirable.

One reception room (lounge) and a big open plan kitchen diner, is the most desirable layout, nobody wants lots of reception rooms.

 

[Mr D]

Talk to a trusted! local estate agent. As said above, never extend your house beyond the typical house price in the local area. In the past I have added a bedroom and enlarged a bathroom. This really improved the house price more than the cost.

Keep the house in balance. If you add a bedroom or two, make sure you have enough reception rooms. Some people say you should have the same number or one less reception rooms to bedrooms. Certainly a house with 4 bedrooms and one reception room is out of balance and probably not at all desirable.

I've seen a house with 3 bedrooms and one reception - a nice bungalow I'd buy if I could afford it.
One very large room for kitchen, lounge and dining. Off top of my head its around 40 x 40 foot room. Configure how you want.
Or fit walls to suit if such a room isn't ideal.

Houses can be purchased for the use you can make of the space besides how they are currently done out.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

nobody wants lots of reception rooms.

Not sure about that - I had two living rooms in my last house and it was brilliant. One where the furniture is all pointed at the TV and one with a more social setup (no TV).
Also had a dining room although that was never used.

 

[estwig]

Not sure about that - I had two living rooms in my last house and it was brilliant. One where the furniture is all pointed at the TV and one with a more social setup (no TV).
Also had a dining room although that was never used.

You've just agreed with me, didn't use the dining room and the second reception room, should be a large open plan kitchen diner for socialising. This is what everyone wants, nobody wants a dining room anymore.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

You've just agreed with me, didn't use the dining room and the second reception room, should be a large open plan kitchen diner for socialising. This is what everyone wants, nobody wants a dining room anymore.

Not quite - I didn't say I never used the second reception room. I actually used that room all the time.
Dining room is different because we had a large kitchen with space for a massive dining table, and the layout of the house was such that the dining room was inexplicably nowhere near the kitchen, so we used it as an extra bedroom.

 

[alan1302]

You've just agreed with me, didn't use the dining room and the second reception room, should be a large open plan kitchen diner for socialising. This is what everyone wants, nobody wants a dining room anymore.

I'd use dining room for office...don't want to be in the kitchen.

You can't have blanket rules for what people want.

 

[estwig]

Not quite - I didn't say I never used the second reception room. I actually used that room all the time.
Dining room is different because we had a large kitchen with space for a massive dining table, and the layout of the house was such that the dining room was inexplicably nowhere near the kitchen, so we used it as an extra bedroom.

I didn't explain myself at all well, I blame the heat, can't possibly be my fault. Your second reception room is the room most people want as a large open plan kitchen diner.

The point remains, apart from lots of bedrooms, no one wants lots of little rooms anymore, it's all about a formal lounge and then an open plan kitchen diner.

 

[MBE2017]

Any improvement can add or detract from a homes value, but end of the day the buyer determines the real value, what appeals to some might put others off.

Most improvements should add 30-50% I’d done well.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Most home improvements apart from adding rooms offer no extra financial reward, but doing up a house so the new owner can just move in without having to immediately having to do anything will get your house sold a lot quicker than one that needs a new Kitchen, Bathroom or any 30 year old room decor

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

but doing up a house so the new owner can just move in without having to immediately having to do anything will get your house sold a lot quicker than one that needs a new Kitchen, Bathroom or any 30 year old room decor

Depends who you're selling to. If you're selling to a developer, they're going to want to do something!

Everyone is different I suppose, and as with @estwig comments above also....there is no one size fits all. You mention that everyone wants an open plan kitchen diner, but actually I don't, and I know other people who don't.

All you can say with certainty is that everyone would probably prefer a house with a roof.

 

[James Eaton]

We had a kitchen fitted, new carpets and floor through out and spent 25k on the property all in.

We were told by several estate agencies before doing so that due to the parking restrictions (no private parking) the property value wouldn't go above 300k.

Then we sold it for 335k a couple years later

The increase was much greater than the investment we made doing it up, perhaps we were just lucky. I think it's key to get several different opinions and just be careful if you are planning on selling in the near future.

 

[UKSBD]

it really depends on the condition of the property in the 1st place.

Ripping out oil filled rads and replacing with new convection heater central heating not only improves value it saves on heating/hot water costs.

Replacing old metal framed windows with new double glazing improves value and saves on heating costs.

Gutting and changing layouts to get extra bedroom or bathroom can increase value.

Putting in off road parking and tidying gardens can improve value

The key is getting a place in the 1st place that really needs improving and it being in a nice area.

 

[The Byre]

We were told by several estate agencies before doing so that due to the parking restrictions (no private parking) the property value wouldn't go above 300k.

Then we sold it for 335k a couple years later.

And they were right - it didn't! In fact you probably got significantly less!

You are living in a country where the government has been busy printing money (quantitative easing) and the BoE has been releasing that money steadily into the money markets.

You sold your house for £300k, only after two years, £300k was then called about £350k. House prices have not been rising: the amount of house you get for a set sum of money has been falling.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

A very good friend of mine, purchased his house for £150K a very large end terraced house...

All the work he's done on it, converting it from a 3 bedroom with 2 reception rooms and extremely large kitchen... (one part of his kitchen worktop alone is 10ft long!) to a 5 bedroom Victorian house - then back to a 3 bedroom house (all large double rooms by the way, one with an en-suite bathroom complete with an all singing all dancing shower/bath/sauna/Jacuzzi bath with radio built in and a TV... and a separate living room ) an office and remodelled the kitchen, built everything himself (with some help ) re-plastered the entire house, re-wired the entire house, put everything back to it's original look, complete with 12" skirting boards, ornate architraves (all made by himself and his help )

Currently has it valued at £270K

Cost of all the work, including materials and new purchases such as the Spa Bath probably about £20K

So, with his double garage kitted out for woodworking, extremely large basement kitted out for milling/lathing metal I thought he's pretty sorted at the moment... but he's now replacing all the windows ready to sell...