You may be considering taking on a house renovation. But how do you know which renovations to focus on - from both a financial and happiness perspective?
Luckily, Insulation Express have analysed every episode of season one to season four of Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer’s ‘Love It or List It’ to highlight the most profitable (and useful) renovations to make in your home.
If you’re not familiar with ‘Love It or List It’, it’s a popular prime-time show where property experts, Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp, help frustrated homeowners decide whether to renovate their current home or move.
Through this investigation, our research has uncovered the:
● Top reasons Brits want to move house
● Rooms you should renovate to make a profit
● Cost of loving or listing your house
● Most profitable house renovations to consider
Read on to discover our full findings.
The Average 'Love It or List It' Renovation Gains a 23% Return on Their Investment
However, whilst our research uncovered that the average ‘Love It or List It’ renovation costs the participants £44,889, the average renovation increased the value of their home by £58,333. Taking into account refurbishment costs, the average profit totalled £13,444 - highlighting the value in loving your home, rather than listing it. Now that’s a 23% return on investment.
Our research uncovered that the two properties that had the highest return on their investment (S2, E4 and S3, E4) received a hefty profit of £35,000.
What’s more, whilst you may think that renovating a house requires a huge investment, it turns out that moving house isn’t much cheaper, with the average move costing £22,084 once you take into account stamp duty and estate agent fees.
64% of Brits Name Their Current Houses’ ‘Lack of Space’ as the Main Reason For Wanting to Move
Whilst there are a number of reasons why UK households take to property websites and estate agent windows, our analysis of ‘Love It Or List It’ has uncovered the top reasons Brits want to move.
The number one reason was homeowners wanting more space (64%), followed by their current house having a dysfunctional layout (18%). With this in mind, it seems that brits believe a bigger house will solve their ‘lack of space’ and ‘dysfunctional layout’ problems, however, moving home isn’t necessarily the right answer.
For example, our research uncovered that 64% of ‘Love It or List It’ participants decided to stay in their home post-renovation, with the remaining 36% choosing to move. This means that almost double the number of homeowners chose to love than list, confirming that Brits just need to be more strategic about their house’s current layout.
Revealed: Kirstie Allsopp’s Top 5 Renovations
Throughout ‘Love it Or List It’, it’s clear that Kirstie Allsop isn’t afraid of knocking down a wall or two. However, despite her bravery when it comes to renovating, she always advocates that you should never spend more than what you’ll get back when it comes to selling. This also further confirms why the average ‘Love It or List It’ participant gains a profit of £13,444 post-renovation.
So, with that in mind, we have uncovered the most popular renovations that Kirstie Allsop suggested in Love It or List It:
1. Large open kitchen and diner space - 86% of properties
2. Adding an additional bathroom, or refurbishing the current bathroom - 64% of properties
3. Altering the layout of the home - 46% of properties
4. Adding an extension or converting the loft - 36% of properties
5. Adding a utility room - 32% of properties
Did you know that the kitchen is the most used room, with 33% of households spending the most time here? Comparatively, the dining room is the least used room, with 46% of households spending the least amount of time here. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the simple solution of knocking down the wall of the dining room to create a large open kitchen diner space is the most popular house renovation - as recommended for 86% of properties.
Adding an additional bathroom or refurbishing the current bathroom was the second most popular improvement, found in almost 2/3 (64%) of homes on ‘Love it Or List It.’
With a ‘lack of space’ being the number one reason for Brits wanting to move home, one of the most-efficient ways to add additional space is by adding an extension or converting the loft. However, as both of these are quite expensive renovations, it’s unsurprising that these were only suggested in 36% of the homes that featured on ‘Love It Or List It’.
What’s more, Kirstie suggested adding a utility room for washing and ironing, therefore, freeing up space in the kitchen – which is an ideal solution for families that have a lot to wash. Almost 1/3 (32%) of participants ended up doing this, making it the fifth most popular renovation.
Room to Improve: More Than Half (54%) of Home Renovations Go Over Budget
Naturally, homeowners in and outside of ‘Love It Or List It’ should set a budget when renovating to help reap an investment should they decide to sell the home.
However, despite good intentions to stay within a budget, often properties run into problems during the build - causing homeowners to go over budget. Or many households choose to extend their budget with a desire to make their house a dream one.
After analysing every episode of ‘Love it or List’, our research uncovered that half (54%) of renovations resulted in going over budget.
In Summary: How to Renovate Your House Whilst Making a Profit
After watching every episode from season one to season four of ‘Love It or List It.’ We’ve learnt a lot about British properties, and what buyers are seeking in a new home. So, if you’re looking to sell your home consider these tips:
● 64% of Brits mistakenly believe they need to move to a bigger house for more space, with 18% believing that they need to move house to gain a more functional layout. However, you don’t need to move home to achieve this - you can utilise the space and create a functional layout in your property just by changing the layout.
● The dining room is the least used room in British households, so think about combining your kitchen with the dining room, by knocking down the separating wall.
● If it’s not possible to create a large kitchen diner space, you can still add great value by refurbishing your kitchen. The kitchen is the second most used room, so this will be a focus for many buyers. Even if you can’t afford a whole new kitchen, you can spruce the space up by painting cupboards and by replacing taps and handles.
● If you’re seeking to make as few changes as possible that won’t break the bank, contemplate repainting your home and buying new furniture. One household added £20,000 to the value of their home by just making small changes such as giving their house a lick of paint.
