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The spring home hunting season is about to begin and buyers and sellers are already in the mood.
Property prices and loan approvals are already rising, according to the latest figures from Halifax and the Bank of England.
But if you’re thinking about taking advantage of the recovery to sell your property, the big questions are: What are the home improvements that will help you maximize your sales price, and what are the projects that could do the opposite?
A swimming pool, for example, may not cause much of a sensation. In fact, it could reduce the value of your property by up to a fifth.
Your great design could be a failure. However, joining the space race could be the way to make your property price soar.
On: having a charging point for electric cars became a necessity for almost one in ten home seekers
Preparing for the future is the motto in the improvement game.
Even if you don’t plan to move for a few years, think now about insulation and other measures that will reduce your fuel bills and those of future homeowners.
Nick Leeming, of estate agency Jackson-Stops, comments: ‘We suspect these energy measures will be key to price negotiations.
Among our buyers, having a charging point for electric cars has already become a necessity for almost one in ten.’
How to win the space race
Location will always be the key determinant of property value, as Andrew Harvey, chief economist at Nationwide, underlines.
But now space matters more than ever, with home buyers focusing not only on the number of bedrooms in a property, but also its total square footage.
This may be due to the focus on this aspect of a home on glossy American real estate shows like Netflix’s Selling Sunset and Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles, with their star real estate agents like Chrishell Stause and Fredrik Eklund.
As Nationwide’s research highlights, an extra 10 percent of space should increase value by 5 percent.
If a two-bedroom semi-detached house is converted to a three-bedroom semi-detached property, it can be worth up to 17 per cent more.
But the payoff is even greater if you have an extension or loft conversion that provides another double bedroom and bathroom.
In fact, this renovation can increase the value of a home that has three bedrooms and one bathroom by up to 25 percent.
The fixation with space also reflects the change in family life, with boomerang-shaped adult children returning to their childhood home.
Michael Holmes, property developer and renovation specialist, says: “The high cost of housing means that children, on average, now live at home until they are 25 years old.
“Add to this the increasing life expectancy and it is not surprising that there is an increase in the number of households spanning three or even four generations living together.
Larger en-suite bedrooms provide a degree of independence for family members and are therefore in high demand.’
The results of separate research by Open Property Group, a property buying company, also underline the vital importance of space, although it makes sense to balance outlay with improvement.
The bill for a loft conversion will be more than £40,000, but it should increase the value of the average home by 20 per cent.
An extension of at least 20 square meters (215 square feet) is another worthwhile project that also adds 20 per cent, although the typical bill is £48,000.
Converting a garage, at a typical cost of £10,000, could mean an increase of 10 per cent.
A year ago a ‘soffice’, that is, a smart garden shed used as an office, was the number one home improvement.
This has decreased around the league amid the return to the traditional front office, although it can still add only 7.5 percent to value.
Leeming emphasizes that a third of buyers still prioritize the availability of space to work from home, but within the home rather than a separate space.
‘Broken plan’ not open plan
Open plan living is still extolled by interior and home renovation experts in magazine articles on stylish renovations.
But Holmes, who will be presenting at the National Home Construction and Renovation Show at the NEC in Birmingham later this month, warns that joining rooms together to create a large space for cooking, eating and relaxing no longer makes financial sense.
Although the completely open layout is no longer fashionable, a kitchen with a combined cooking and eating area is still popular. If reformed, it can provide a 5.5% increase.
The lasting legacy of the pandemic is the desire for areas that provide privacy and tranquility.
Mr Holmes says: ‘The trend towards totally open living is now reversed.
‘A separate living room is back on the wish list, as is ‘split plan’ living, which is a version of open plan, but where the spaces still have three walls and open to a central space.
“These areas are divided by informal partitions, such as glass doors, sliding doors or pocket doors.”
Although the completely open layout is no longer fashionable, a kitchen with a combined cooking and eating area is still popular. If reformed, it could provide a 5.5 percent increase.
Almost as desirable is a separate utility room, a facility that 26 per cent of prospective buyers want and which provides a 5 per cent increase in the value of a home.
How to clean with baths
Bathrooms are important to buyers, and it seems the more bathrooms there are, the better.
An extra bathroom adds 6 per cent to the value of the average home, according to Nationwide, although Open Property Group puts it at a more conservative estimate of 2.6 per cent.
But giving your bathroom a new look by removing the bathtub is a bad idea, no matter how striking the high-pressure rainwater shower you have installed is. This can reduce the price by 2 percent, as buyers want to imagine relaxing in a bathtub.
Holmes comments: ‘For some homebuyers, a freestanding bathroom is the epitome of luxury – it’s a feature that adds elegance to a boutique hotel. If that’s on a potential buyer’s wish list, then absolutely nothing else will do.’
DON’T take the risk
A swimming pool may seem like the height of luxury. It can be the ultimate indulgence if you plan to stay in your property for a decade or more.
But research by estate agency Yopa shows that a pool deters buyers so much that it can, in fact, reduce the value of a home by up to a whopping 19.6 per cent.
Parents fear for the safety of young children. They are also not very interested in maintenance and heating bills at a time when there are pressures on the cost of living.
When it comes to gardens, a decent-sized plot is a must for most families, but they will be especially drawn to a well-tended, south-facing garden. A north-facing garden can reduce the value by 1.9 percent.
Maintenance costs: a study by the Yopa real estate agency shows that a swimming pool deters buyers so much that, in fact, it can reduce the value of a home by up to 19.6%.
Whatever the nature of your yard, real estate agents emphasize that a neglected yard, especially if it’s littered with broken bikes and toys, along with unkempt edging and an unkempt lawn, sends the message to the buyer that there will likely be problems within the home. property.
In the post-war years, covering the exterior of a house with pebbles was the main renovation. The change in tastes has been such that this thick plaster surface on external walls, in its unpainted brown form, can reduce the value by 10 per cent, shaving around £55,799 off the average house.
Checkatrade estimates that removing it from a four-bedroom house would cost between £6,300 and £7,800, which could be money well spent to give the house that all-important curb appeal.
Another drawback is the lack of parking, which, as Yopa figures show, can reduce the value by 6.8 percent.
If a home lacks this facility, banks may use this as a reason to reduce its value for mortgage purposes, according to Jonathan Harris, mortgage broker at Forensic Property Finance.
Maximize Curb Appeal
Home improvement trends may come and go, but the saying that “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” always applies.
You can achieve this by sprucing up the front yard, filling planters with spring flowers and painting, or even replacing the front door.
A Zoopla spokesperson says: ‘A new front door is an important element in giving a first impression of the condition and quality of the entire home. Security is also an important consideration and a solid front door is key to this.’
Organizing and depersonalizing the interior of a house is also a good measure.
Million Dollar Listing’s Fredrik Eklund even suggests that sellers should remove half of their belongings and put them into storage.
Amy Reynolds, of Antony Roberts estate agency, says this process helps the potential buyer imagine living in your home.
She comments: ‘I recently sold a large family home that had been on the market for nine months, but had only received offers below the asking price.
‘I suggested to the sellers that they spend £20,000 removing the curtains and redecorating all the rooms that were in the boldest primary colours.
There was some initial resistance. But once the cosmetic work was done, we received an offer at the asking price, and even one person, who had previously made a low offer, was willing to increase his offer.’
Mrs Reynolds advises: ‘Your house should always be ready to be visited; She never knows when the agent will call and she wants as many potential buyers over the threshold as possible.
This means opening the curtains, making the bed, tidying up after breakfast – these are essential steps that owners should take before a visit, but often don’t.’
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