What adds value to your home?

• Add a good sized room onto a 2-bed property & raise value by 10%+
• Extra bathroom can add c10%
• 34% premium for period living

Source: Nationwide. Figures relate to approximate uplifts in property valuations of a typical house with the above characteristics compared to a property without these characteristics.

Commenting on the figures Alex Bannister, Nationwide's Group Economist, said:

"Although real take home pay and interest rates are the drivers of house prices at the national level, a myriad of factors are important in influencing the price of a property. We have extended the research we did for our 1999 What Adds Value article to take a closer look at our house price index to determine which factors hold the key to value. "We have assessed alterations which can add value to a property. As the table shows, extending a property with a decent sized bedroom can increase the price by around 11%. Adding a bedroom may also negate the need to move up the property ladder - saving moving costs of £4-5,000 and almost certainly higher mortgage payments. However, improvements must be appropriate - adding a 4th bathroom to a 2-bed property is unlikely to boost value significantly. Other works such as a kitchen refit or aesthetic styling such as painting and landscaping of gardens are also likely to help sell a home more quickly. However, quantifying the effect of these objectively is impossible. Our research suggests that the best investments are those which raise the property up to a higher price level - these include adding central heating, a garage or an extra room.

"We have also identified the most important 'fixed' factors in determining property prices - i.e. those which are generally beyond alteration. In the cliché-ridden world of property it is no surprise that location is key. This is largely because of regional economic performance. Uprooting a Northern Irish property and placing it into London would increase its value by 2.6 times. However, the make up of neighbourhoods and the distance from amenities and travel links also influence prices in a significant way. Properties in the 'best' neighbourhoods can command premiums of over 100%.

"Of course property type and age are also important. Detached bungalows are much sought after and can be worth up to 20% more than a similarly featured semi-detached house. "Older properties are also typically worth more, with a Jacobean property worth c30% more than one built in the fifties. New properties also attract a premium, typically between 5-10%, although this is considerably less than the 25%+ seen during the eighties."

For more information on what adds value to your house; click here

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