Make £24,000 from your loft-space
Converting your loft space could add £34,000 to your house price.
That is according to new figures from Nationwide, which calculates that adding an extra bedroom can add six per cent to property values and adding another bathroom can add five per cent.
If both are placed in an under-used attic - and combined with the extra square-footage that this adds to a house - they could increase the value of an average home by 21 per cent, or £34,000, while costing around half this amount.
"Rather than just waiting for the general rise in prices, there are a number of ways to add value to property," said Nationwide group economist Fionnuala Earley.
"Nationwide research shows that an extra bedroom can add six per cent to the price of a property and an extra bathroom more than five per cent.
"Building a loft extension to combine the two rather than moving, could make a family £24,000 better off after taking moving costs into account."
However, even the best conversion might not always be worthwhile.
Nationwide research shows location is still the biggest influence on house prices and how easy properties are to sell.
On a like-for-like basis people can pay 90 per cent more for properties in affluent areas compared with those in more deprived areas.
"Location is still the most important factor," Ms Earley commented.
"A house in the best neighbourhood can command a price more than a third higher than a similar house in an 'average' area."
Other factors that influenced house prices were age of the property, off-street parking, and central heating.
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