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Written 22 Nov 08
In a recently published survey by The Nationwide Building Society, the most common types of home improvement have been rated in terms of the percentage value they are likely to add to a property. The results are as follows:
|
Type of Improvement |
Added Value to property |
|
Extension - large kitchen / family room into garden area |
15% |
|
Extension - adding floor space |
12% |
|
Extension - extra bedroom by adding floor space (2 bed to 3 bed) |
12% |
|
Extension - extra bedroom by adding floor space (3 bed to 4 bed) |
8% |
|
Alterations - extra bedroom without adding floor space |
6% |
|
Loft Conversion - extra bedroom and en-suite |
21% |
|
Adding an extra bathroom or en-suite |
5% |
|
Off-street parking space |
6.5% |
|
Garage - detached or integrated |
7-14% |
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Double glazing |
5% |
|
Central heating value added |
7% |
|
|
Area |
Making the most of your home |
|
Kitchens |
Choose units that will not date and where-ever possible fit granite worktops. The kitchen should be of a generous size and preferably overlooking the rear garden. |
|
Bathrooms |
White sanitary fittings are a must. A 4 bed house should have 1 bathroom and 1 ensuite, a 5/6 bedroom house should have 1 bathroom and 2/3 ensuites. |
|
Downstairs
WC |
A downstairs toilet can be located almost anywhere. An external window and separate lobby are now not required. A downstairs WC is on most home-buyers wish-list. |
|
Reception Rooms |
Preferably a house of over 4 beds should have at least two separate reception rooms. One of the reception rooms shoud have an outlook to the rear garden. |
|
Layout |
An aspect often overlooked. The layout and circulation of a house should flow. Increase circulation space when adding extra rooms and avoid through-rooms. | |
Free Advice
We can help you work out what would be best to raise the value of your property. Just ask our Estimator to do a rapid survey and you will get free professional advice on what can be done.
Article posted 15 October 2008
UK Housing prices will go up say experts
House prices are going to rise again. That may seem a scenario far removed from today's headlines about falling prices and haemorrhaging values. But, according to an influential economics consultancy, prices have to go up for one simple reason - government targets for the minimum number of new homes are just not being met.
A year ago, 'targets' were the order of the day. Gordon Brown announced that in England alone there should be between 240,000 and 297,700 homes built annually until 2016, and that, in total, between 2.9 million and 3.5 million new homes should be built by 2020. In 2007 - before the downturn hit the new-build market - some 174,900 homes were completed: still below target but on an upward path from previous years.
Yet at the start of autumn 2008, figures for housing starts suggest that this year's total will be only about 110,000, according to the House Builders Association. It predicts 2009 and 2010 figures may well fall to a dismal 55,000. The consequence is that the new-homes industry is imploding. The fewer homes built, the fewer people work in the industry, making the downturn even worse. Similar targets, and shortfalls, exist in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Jim Ward of estate agency Savills predicts new-build levels in England will not have returned to 140,000 per year - scarcely half the government's target - even by 2013. He says: 'Once sites are mothballed, there's inertia in the system as it takes time to rebuild teams and return to the same master-planning position on more complex sites.'
Recent measures announced to kick-start elements of the housing market will do nothing to improve building rates. Stamp-duty changes may boost sales but not new building. Allowing housing associations to buy unsold houses and flats mops up stock but does not help overall supply meet demand.
The slump in building will not just affect the private sector. Many of the affordable homes made available to key workers and the low-paid are built as a result of so-called 'section 106' deals - that is, arrangements by which developers have to build a number of affordable homes to get an agreement to build private-sector properties. With private sales at a standstill, developers have downed tools on residential property across the UK, so section 106 properties are not being built either, creating a shortage of properties exactly where demand for affordable homes is strongest.
That fundamental mismatch of supply and demand, of course, will fuel a new housing boom if the Centre for Economic and Business Research's forecasts are correct. 'The sharp drop in completions will mean higher prices if and when credit markets sort themselves out,' says CEBR senior economist Ben Read. 'The government will be concerned that, with every year that passes, it gets further away from its targets. With developers unlikely to respond quickly when the market bottoms out, prices may recover more quickly than people imagine.'
That price rise may be every bit as large as the current price falls. A report published last month by the National Housing Federation suggests the average house price in England will rise 25 per cent by 2013. NHF chief executive David Orr says: 'House prices will increase substantially over the mid to long term. Demand is going up, while the supply of new homes is going down.'
Professional advice reduces costly mistakes in home improvements when you are looking to raise your property value. Big decisions to make changes to your home require extensive planning to ensure you get the added value you want with NO mistakes.
Source - Guardian.co.uk
Article posted 17 October 2008
The big picture
If you're thinking about selling your home, you might want to wait a while and consider refurbishment. The Your Mortgage report supports many experts' view that house prices are going to dip over the next couple of years. While these price falls are going to be more severe in some areas than others, property values are predicted to pick up again from 2010. The research suggests that by 2012 many regions will be enjoying double-digit house price growth. So the time would be now to get that fancy kitchen fitted or marble wortop placed. If there is something you can do to add future value to your house, do it now and watch the value grow.
Winners
Perhaps unsurprisingly, prices in London are predicted to see the largest rate of growth over the next five years. In Greater London, prices are forecast to rise by 29.4%, with growth of 6% alone in 2010. Prices in upmarket boroughs such as Kensington & Chelsea and Richmond-upon-Thames are predicted to see the biggest gains, rising by a total of 35% and 32.2% respectively.
The survey predicts that no London boroughs will see prices fall over the coming five years - and by the time the Olympics begin, homeowners in the capital will have made a tidy profit.
Elsewhere, prices in Surrey will see growth of 20.8% while property values across the South East as a whole are predicted to rise by nearly 20%. There will also be big gains for Buckinghamshire (19.6%), West Sussex (19.1%), Oxfordshire (18.9%), Hampshire (18.7%), Kent (18.7%) and East Sussex (18.3%).
The East of England will also see prices rise by a total of 16%, while the North East's resurgence will continue with gains in excess of 14%. All these areas are predicted to see slow growth over the next two years and then bigger gains from 2010 to 2012.
Source - Money.sky.com
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