Extensions - do they increase the value of the house??

S

speirbhean

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Hello all. I hope this post doesn't contravene the guidelines about house prices so if it does I apologise in advance - likewise if the mods want to move it please feel free. But it's a general rather than a specific question about house prices and extensions. Would adding an extension, for example a large kitchen increase the value of the house enough for the money to be 'made back' if you were to sell it again? To give you a real life example - we live in a three bed semi d with a large back garden but a small galley style kitchen. It's not a good layout for a family, no room to supervise kids, sit down, eat etc. We would ideally like to move to a slightly 'better' area some day but are not in a hurry to do so and would be happy in the house we are in for the next five years or so. However the kitchen is just too small for our needs. So the question is this - if we extended the kitchen to get what we want, a seating area and more storage space - would we be wasting our money if we then sold the house in five years? Or is there any chance that the value of the house could go up by the price of the kitchen? We don't want to make a profit on the extension, we would just like to know we weren't throwing money away. I know this is a very difficult question to answer but even ball park suggestions would be useful. I'm assuming the kitchen will cost in the region of E70,000 including fittings - so would buyers be willing to pay that much over the price of a smiliar house with a galley kitchen?

Thanks in advance
SB
 
I believe (from anecdotal evidence and property programmes!) that it is unlikely that you will recoup the entire cost of an extension, but that adding square footage will increase the value of your home (all other things being equal in the market, which they aren't). Best thing is to look at other houses in the area with a square footage similar to your proposed increased size and work from there.

Sprite
 
70,000 euro for a kitchen extension?

You would nearly build an entire house for that... where are you getting your figures from, and how big is the extension?
 
It's a very approximate figure based on a mid boom estimate so I'd hope it would come in less than that. But I am including a utility room and downstairs loo and all fixtures and fittings.
 
It depends on a number of things. it's questionable if you will get the full cost back in a few years, but if the house is your home and it helps you enjoy your house more and improves your family life in the period, then it may be worth it

couple of things to consider, it's worth doing it right as opposed leaving a prospective buyer considering additional costs to repair or replace all or some of the work done.

Secondly, what is the impact on the garden, if you have a small garden that in effect you loose, it may not be worth your while
 
Make sure that your builder and/or architect will give you a certificate of compliance with building regulations, so that you don't reduce the value through a breach of the regs.
 
My short answer would be no. It certainly hasn't been so in the past. Houses that need lots of work have been actually priced quite high and ones that have the work done would be higher obviously but not to the point of covering the cost of the work done.
Maybe it works differently though when prices are coming down and cash is hard to get hold of, as people find it harder to borrow the cash to do up a house.
Basically you would have to be happy that you are doing it for your family and accept that you may not be getting the full cost back when you sell up.
Have you tried ringing an EA for a more professional opinion?
 
There was an article in one of the Sunday papers a while back about extensions. If I recall correctly kitchens and bathrooms were more likely to recoup costs at re-sale than attic conversions.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses. We did think of asking a local estate agent but to be honest the prices have changed so rapidly around here in the last year that everything they knew is wrong!!! Or at very best an estimate.
But the advice about living in the 'home' we want to live in is good advice, even if it doesn't make back 100% of the price in the short term.
So now we have to figure out the price of extensions! We will do a search on this board now but if anyone has any tips on getting an architect/quote in the current climate then we'd appreciate it.
 
I know of builders doing jobs at cost to hang onto staff so you'll have your pick just get a few quotes.
 
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