Pushing your home’s value to its full potential can make your next move bigger and better. That could mean more space, a larger garden, or a swisher location than you thought was possible.
But where do you start?
Well, we talk to buyers looking for a home in our area every day. And from their reactions on viewings, we’ve pulled together the qualities and features they love most to help you make upgrades that count, including:
- Things you can do for free
- Low-cost improvements
- Optimising energy efficiency
- Extending & remodelling
- Luxury & design upgrades
So whether you’re selling soon or adding value for the future, let’s take a look at the most popular improvements to bowl over buyers and sell your home for more.
Lead image: Priory Road, Reigate. On the market now.
Start with the free stuff.
There are plenty of ways to add thousands to your home without spending a penny, and with a weekend of work and thought, you can make a dramatic difference.
- Rearrange, relocate or even remove pieces of furniture to unlock valuable extra floor space and give any spare rooms a clear purpose and lived-in look.
- Take a picture of each room to see how they look on camera (your phone will do) – we can get used to bulging bookshelves or blocked sightlines, and a photo can act as a new pair of eyes.
- Banish any suggestion of bursting at the seams by clearing excess clutter from storage spaces, including under the stairs, kitchen cupboards, and fitted wardrobes.
- Check if you have any unused items hidden away that you could use for styling and accessorising to add extra homely touches.
- Clean everything inside and out – not just hoovering and dusting, but also exterior paintwork, garden paths, both sides of windows, skirting boards, light switches and door handles.
The big takeaway is that a stylish, sparkling and uncluttered home makes great photography and puts a spring in the step of every viewing, whatever the time of year.
Make low-cost improvements.
Buyers pay more for a home that looks loved because it stops them from worrying about nasty surprises and hidden costs, so look for opportunities to fix minor repairs and make small investments.
- Repaint peeling or chipped exterior woodwork like window frames, your front door and fence – your kerb appeal has a big impact on how buyers see your home before they even come in.
- Treat any room with tired decoration to a fresh coat of paint to elevate its look and feel, then use our photography secrets blog for extra styling tips.
- Refresh bathrooms and kitchens by removing mould and limescale from tiles, grouting, sealant and taps, fixing drips, and repainting or replacing rusty radiators.
- Upgrade outdated or bland handles on internal doors and kitchen cupboards for an instant style lift.
- Bring your garden or balcony to life with plants, flowers, seating, textiles and lighting for an attractive outdoor space to use all day and night.
Elevate your eco-score.
Eco-conscious buyers are here to stay, and with yet another hefty jump in energy costs upon us, your home’s energy efficiency and performance have never affected its value more.
- Plug up icy draughts by sealing gaps around windows and door frames, then fit draught excluders to letterboxes, keyholes and under doors.
- Insulate everywhere you can. It’s the foundation of energy efficiency, so check where you can trap in the heat, from the roof to the walls and under the floor.
- Add smart upgrades to your heating system, including room thermostats, a central control system with zones, and wifi compatibility with access from your phone when you’re in or out.
- Research switching to solar power or installing a heat exchange system to reduce energy consumption and generate your own electricity.
- Replace single glazing with double or triple-glazed windows in wood or aluminium – focus on retaining your home’s character at the front, and opening up views at the back.
Extend or remodel your home.
Banks and surveyors use square footage when valuing property, which makes increasing your home’s size and usable space an effective way to supercharge its value. And there are many options.
- Integrating an empty adjacent space could add a spacious bedroom suite, extra kids’ rooms, a home office, or a family-sized kitchen hub spilling onto the garden.
- Attached or integral garages can be turned into rooms, but consider the impact on your home’s value if you don’t have any off-street parking.
- Loft conversions are firm favourites for adding extra accommodation without having to extend – make sure you install a proper staircase that’s easy to climb!
- Combining separate rooms and spaces can increase the usable floor area, add more light, and modernise a layout.
- Even getting planning permission and commissioning architects’ drawings can substantially increase your audience of buyers and how much they’ll pay.
If you’d like some help or suggestions for extending or remodelling your home to attract more buyers and get the highest return, we’re here to help you make a profitable decision.
Inject luxury and design upgrades.
As well as turning everyday routines into moments of pleasure, adding five-star upgrades can make your home stand out from the crowd, raise the local price ceiling, and even create a whole new market.
- Install a state-of-the-art designer kitchen with marble or stone worktops and a full range of integrated appliances from premium brands like miele, siemens, and bosch.
- Add spa-quality to your bathroom with features like a freestanding tub, walk-in rainfall shower, heated floor, natural tiles and high-end taps.
- Upgrade the flooring in living areas to solid or engineered hardwood to add the rich, durable and timeless style of natural timber.
- Repurpose an under-utilised front lawn into off-street parking, including applying to the local authority for a dropped kerb.
- Replace boring radiators and plastic switches with coordinated designer models in modern metallic finishes like brushed steel, brass, or black.
- Employ a professional landscaper to transform an uninspired garden into a stylish oasis using natural materials with zones for eating, planting and relaxing.
The best return from luxury or design upgrades comes from those that deliver the biggest step up in the experience and lifestyle of your home with a focus on high-quality, elegant fittings and finishes.
Would you like to boost your sale price?
Then let’s talk!
If you own a home in Redhill, Reigate, Dorking or Banstead, we’d love to help you achieve the maximum potential value so you can make your dream move with money to spare.
Call us on 01737 333 677 or drop us a line at info@ralphjames.co.uk to chat about your plans with our friendly and expert team.
