How to add value to your home before selling

It can be hard for a viewer to imagine living in a house that doesn’t match their tastes. Making slight but impactful changes to your decor can make a real difference.

Neutral palettes are typically a crowd pleaser. Not only do they give viewers a blank canvas to imagine living there, but they also make the room seem lighter, brighter and cleaner. A quick lick of off-white or pale grey paint will do the trick.

Making your home neutral not only appeals to a wider number of homebuyers, but may boost its value too. Research conducted by Bankrate showed that homes listed on Zoopla with 'Scandinavian' (epitomised by its neutral, minimal style) in their description were on average £340,224 higher than the UK national average!

Front doors get a lot of wear and tear from British weather, meaning they can become tired. They are also a part of the home that those living there may forget to pay attention to. However, first impressions count. 

The front door is the first thing your viewers will see when they show up. You want to impress them before they’ve even entered your home.

Adding a fresh coat of paint in an on-trend colour will give a fresher look to your home’s exterior and could ultimately improve the worth of your home.

Like your front door, these home furnishings can often go neglected – updated once then left in favour of more obvious interior modernisations. 

However, when it comes to selling your home, the little things really do make a difference.

Modern light fittings and door handles can add value as they update your home and will typically stay with the new homeowner once you leave. 

Taking care of this means one less task and a reduced cost for the new household, in turn making your home more attractive.

The kitchen can, at times, become something of a warzone. Especially if mealtimes include cooking for a family. 

Kitchen cupboards often face the brunt of this as paint gets chipped and stained. However, a fresh coat of paint in a neutral colour is all you need to freshen your kitchen right up!

Much like our aforementioned front door philosophy, your front garden (or yard) is the first thing homebuyers see when they come for a viewing.

Bring out your horticultural side by pruning any dead plants, planting fresh ones, trimming down anything too wild and getting rid of weeds. This can all help improve your home’s value.

Extra points if you do your back garden or yard too.

This tip comes Phil Spencer recommended. As he explains on the Move IQ podcast, a fresh-looking carpet is very appealing to a homebuyer.

Getting carpets changed can be an awkward and expensive experience, so if a homebuyer knows that won’t be an issue with your property, they may be more likely to put an offer in. 

Organising a professional carpet clean saves you the time and money of a complete carpet overhaul, while giving your home an added boost.

New kitchens and bathrooms are the staple of any home improvement guide, and for good reason. 

Kitchens and bathrooms are often the most difficult and costly rooms to upgrade, which means that homebuyers can be easily put off by either of these rooms being tired or out of date. 

A new, modern kitchen, on the other hand, can add an estimated 6-8% to the value of your home. Likewise, a new bathroom may improve your home’s value by 4-5%. 

While fresh paint on walls and cupboards works for a lot of homes, some may not be able to get away with those smaller changes. If your home is one of them, try to consider what might be best for a new homeowner, rather than what suits your tastes.

As well as ensuring the rooms are updated to be modern, think about whether or not the rooms are currently using the space in the best way or if the layout can be reorganised to make better use of the space.

Often considered an essential for modern homebuyers, double glazing can add real value to your home. It keeps the warmth in and the noise out, plus it’s one less thing for new residents to worry about fixing when they move in. 

Research estimates that this could add an impressive 10% to your home’s value.

However, if you’re currently living in a period property, assess your options and get a second opinion. You don’t want the glazing you choose to affect the character of the home as this may negatively impact your property's value.

Extending your property is an excellent way to add value before selling. There are plenty of extensions to choose from, from bringing the outside in with a conservatory to an extra bedroom. 

Extra bedrooms are a safe bet to add value as the more bedrooms a home has, the more it is worth. With the increase in remote working, home offices are becoming more and more popular for homebuyers too.

A good way to decide is to consider what your home is missing. Do you only have one bathroom? Or perhaps only two bedrooms? 

Figuring out what your home could benefit from more of is a great place to start. Whatever you decide on, extending your property may improve your home’s value by 11%.

Loft conversions are known to add significant value to your home, with some research saying it’s as high as 23%. Plus, it’s a great way to utilise space that is often otherwise overlooked. 

Typically used as just storage space, have a huge clean out of everything you don’t need and turn your loft into a whole new room.