Is It Worth Extending Your Home?

Pondering whether a property extension is the right step forwards for you? Here are the factors you ought to consider when determining whether it’s worthwhile extending your home:

Motivation

Firstly, what is your primary purpose for considering an extension? Do you:

• Require more space for your growing family?
• Want to boost the value of your home prior to selling?
• Want to make your sales listing more appealing to buyers?
• Want to adapt your current home rather than moving to another property?

Understanding what your key motivator is for extending your home will allow you to assess whether an extension is the best route for you to take. For example, if you are concerned about outgrowing your existing property, is an extension the most appropriate way to allow for this? Would a loft conversion, or perhaps even a home move, be better?

Space

Any extension you undertake will eat into your available outdoor space. It is important to weigh up the pros and cons of reducing your outdoor space by adding extra square footage to your home. Adding an extension, especially to a home with a small garden, may be detrimental to the value of your property – especially if you are spending tens of thousands of pounds on reducing your valuable garden space. This is where the help and advice of a property valuer can be of use: by consulting a local property expert, you will be able to determine whether retaining your outdoor space or extending your home will add the most value to your property.

Furthermore, an extension is not the only way you could alter your available space to add value to your home. Could you perhaps use your space more effectively by adding a paved driveway, or patio area? A drive could add as much as 10% to the value of your home, so this could be a more impactful use of your time and funds, and a patio area could be a welcome addition to your outdoor space which repurposes your garden rather than replacing it. Alternatively, if you wish to retain as much of your outdoor space as possible, it may be worth considering a loft conversion. This would have no impact on your available outdoor areas but would still create more useable space – this is a fantastic option for those who do not have use for their loft as storage.

Adding Value

If you are looking for a sure-fire way to add value to your property, an extension is an effective way to do so. In fact, Nationwide suggest that your home could benefit from a value boost of up to 23% if extended, whereas The Times arrives at a more conservative conclusion that 5 to 10% could be added to the value of your home. This is entirely subject to your local property market, demand in your neighbourhood, the type of property you have and the kind of extension you get. For example, you can expect a two-storey extension in a suburb close to a city to achieve a more significant boost to the value of the property when compared to a small, one-storey extension in a location with less demand.

However, if your primary motivation for extending your home is to add value, you could do this in other ways that will save you less time and money. After all, extending your home costs thousands of pounds, with most extensions coming in at a cost of between £15,000 and £60,000 depending on size and complexity. You could take less expensive measures to boost the value of your property – here are some ideas:

Energy Efficiency

With energy bills becoming increasingly burdensome for most households, homeowners are looking to implement technologies that impart long-term energy savings. In fact, Money Supermarket suggest that up to 14% can be added to the value of your property if you are able to transform its energy efficiency from an EPC grade of G to A. From new insulation to updated glazing and ultra-efficient heat pumps, there are plenty of ways for homeowners to add value to a property with energy saving measures.

Refurbishment

It may be worth refurbishing your existing spaces rather than adding additional square footage to your property by extending your home. Is your bathroom starting to look outdated? Are your kitchen appliances fit for the 1990’s? Consider how you can boost the appeal of your current space before agreeing to an extension!

Outdoor Space

If your property comes with outdoor space such as a garden, balcony or patio, you will have plenty of opportunity to boost the value of your home. Research carried out by the Post Office shows that a landscaped garden can add a huge 77% to the value of your home! While not everybody has the budget to landscape their garden, nor the time to stay on top of outdoor maintenance, this certainly shows the importance of well-maintained outdoor space in impacting property value. As such, you should certainly consider giving your garden some love if you are looking to add value to your property but aren’t quite willing to fork out on extending your home.

The Importance Of Valuations

If you’re looking to extend your home as a way to boost the value of your property, you should book in a valuation with a property professional both before and after the works have been completed. This will give you a better understanding of whether the amends you have made to your home have been successful in increasing the value of your property. Booking a valuation with Centrick is easy: if your home is in Nottingham, Solihull or Birmingham you can schedule a valuation through our website. Looking for something quicker? Check out our Instant Valuation tool for an appraisal in just a few clicks.

Considering Extending Your Home?

Whether you’ve decided to take the leap and opt for an extension, or you’re still on the fence, Centrick can help you make the most informed decision for the future of your property. That’s why we created the At Home hub – your one stop shop for property advice and content that allows you to make the best choices to meet your property goals. For more tailored advice, contact our team of property experts using the form below: