The UK and especially London with space at a premium, are following in the Australians footsteps.
Australia. Oz. The Land Down Under. It goes by many names, but whatever you want to call it, Australia has been the origin of many things that you might consider part of your everyday life: The Spork, Ugg Boots, The Dual Flush Toilet and even Selfies. All great things that we couldn’t live without, right?
Well, Australia has recently started something else that looks like it might start working it’s way around the world – staying home. We don’t mean that they are choosing not to like, go outside, but are in fact choosing to renovate their homes instead of looking for a new place. Yes, the Australians have appeared to have mastered the art of making their homes feel brand new, while at the same time vastly increasing their values.
There is some indication that this mind set has already hit our shores. A survey conducted by Property Wire returned results that a staggering 94% of UK homeowners would rather spend money improving their current home than moving to a new property.
Now, why might this be? Laziness, perhaps? A love of the status quo? It could be either of these reasons, but it’s more likely the aforementioned sizeable increase to the value of your property. Generally speaking, spending what can at first seem like a large amount on renovating your home, will give you an even higher return.
On average, your spending (on a £200,000 property) and returns will be:
- Conservatory:
Average spend: £10,000 – Average increase: £14,000
- New Kitchen:
Average spend: £6,000 – Average increase: £9,200
- Extension:
Average spend: £16,000 – Average increase: £24,000
- Garage Conversion:
Average spend: £4,000 – Average increase: £6,000
- Loft Conversion:
Average spend: £16,000 – Average increase: £25,000
With these kind of returns, you can see why people see such projects as very worthy investments. You can actually see what the return from any of these improvements would be to your home with this home improvement tool from Loan.co.uk.
So, next time you are thinking about buying a new home, remember that new and shiny isn’t always the best move. A lot of the time, polishing what you’ve already got can give you the same results and at the same time save you money while raising the value of your home.
Thorough research is of course always encouraged for either of these endeavours, so be sure to do your homework before you jump into anything.
