Planning rules have relaxed over the years and adding a home extension is definitely on trend. But is an entire new extension to the build worth it? It is, after all, quite the investment. Extending the house calls for extensive repairs, major restructuring, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. You may be wondering – If I want to sell my house quickly, is a home extension going to make that more difficult?
Here’s what you need to know about extending your home:
Extending Your Home Equals More space
Adding more space is surely a great way to increase the value of your property. Usually this involves creating a new bathroom in a spare corner or the house or converting the loft into a spare bedroom. The more carpet area the better. Here at DesignBump we have some great home improvement ideas on how to enhance a bathroom or design a new kitchen for example.
Adding more space to your home can be a profitable way to increase its long term value.
While these projects may cost a lot, the investment is not comparable to adding a new extension. Adding a new storey or extending the house to the backyard is surely a bigger investment. A brand new extension is likely to cost somewhere between a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the scope of the project.
A Home Extension Adds Significant Value
The fact that more space adds value is hard to deny, but putting an exact figure on the returns is nearly impossible. But there is some data on the subject. A recent survey from the UK found that adding a spare bedroom to a three-bedroom house was likely to bump the whole property’s price by close to 23%.
An internal extension or a larger outdoor area can add over 20% to a properties value on its next sale date.
Similar studies have shown that an average extension costs nearly half the eventual returns on the project. In other words, you can expect to get $2 back for every $1 you invest in adding an extension. But those figures are averages and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Caveats of Extending Your Property
It all boils down to how the budget is managed. If you spend too much on an extravagant extension, you’re less likely to make that back on the property’s eventual selling price. It pays to hire a professional evaluator to come by and have a look at the project before you get started. Professional home evaluations also helps to view your house from a interested buyer’s perspective. If you believe an extension has potential to be useful and acceptable for someone with your living standards, go ahead.
Further believe it or not houses that actually become too valuable after a significant extension can struggle to sell. This is because purchasers typically sit in common income bands. Once your property exceeds a certain value then if becomes less attainable to the majority of people.
To sum up, adding extra space to your home or outdoor areas via a home extension is a great idea as long as you can plan the project out properly and stick to your budget with discipline. Do your research, hire a professional to help, and always keep your buyer cap on. This will help you design an amazing space that will appeal to everyone and add value to your house.