If you don’t anticipate living in your current home forever, you might naturally have wondered what you could do to it to increase its value. Often, the home improvement that would most appeal to you wouldn’t necessarily appeal to many people perusing the domestic property market.
Given that your financial resources for DIY work could be pretty limited right now, which such work could spur the best return on investment? One possible answer: converting your loft. According to recent research mentioned by Homes & Gardens, a loft conversion can increase a home’s value by nearly 20%.
So, should you just go straight ahead with converting your loft?
Not so fast! The above-mentioned figure is indeed promising – and the same research, conducted through an analysis of listings on the online property portal Rightmove, suggests that the added value could even reach 25% if your home is in a big city where space is at a premium.
However, in practice, for your converted loft to make as much as a 20-25% improvement in property value, it could need to constitute a self-contained sleeping space, such as a bedroom with an en-suite.
Furthermore, the home would need to be in an area where demand for larger, family homes outstrips supply. You might want to think again about having the loft converted if your town or city already has a generous supply of spacious, multi-bedroom homes.
Would a rear extension make a good-value alternative?
Opting for a rear extension to your property can make a lot of sense if you would like to expand one of its existing function spaces, like a kitchen or dining room. Usually, with a loft conversion, you would instead be adding a whole new room – such as an additional bedroom or bathroom.
However, the appeal of a rear extension begins to falter when it comes to your permitted development (PD) rights – in other words, the extent to which you are able to modify your home without needing planning permission. With a loft conversion, you would be able to create more room under PD.
Statistics also show that a loft conversion is likely to add more value than a rear extension. As revealed in numbers shared by Resi, while a rear extension in England and Wales would add £60,675 in value, the equivalent figure for a loft conversion is £101,125.
Would your home’s location make a difference to your loft conversion’s value?
Yes, it likely would. According to the Resi figures, if you live in North East England, converting your home’s loft could still potentially add £38,328 to the property’s value. However, the situation looks much rosier if you live in South East England, where a loft conversion can add as much as £97,896 in value.
You could also find that you can easily source professional assistance for your loft conversion project. Consider, for example, that Instaloft provides a great loft boarding service available for residential properties in many areas of the South East England region – including Twickenham, Basingstoke, Guildford, Oxfordshire and Uxbridge.
