We’ve recently been doing some home improvements to our house here in Australia, it got me thinking. We all know there are certain things you can do to improve the value of your home, but are those things the same in the UK as they are here in Australia?
Certainly things are different when buying a house in Australia when compared to, say, England. A big selling point for a house in England would be a south facing garden so you can enjoy as much sun is possible; here in Australia you’d be looking for a garden that has plenty of shade.
In the UK you’d want a house with double glazed windows to keep the warmth in; here in Australia you’d be looking for a house on a hill so you can catch the breeze. You’d also want windows with mesh screens on them so you can let that cool air in, without also letting in the mozzies and other unwanted critters.
Clearly, already you can see there are different requirements for our different countries, so I wondered what would be different when you asked the experts what home improvements you could do to add value to your home.
How do I find out such information?
Google, of course!
The UK
First I went to Google UK and search for “top 5 home improvements for adding value” and selected results from the UK only. Different people have different opinions, of course, so I decided to look at just the top two websites.
On money.aol they told us that according to HSBC, the top five are:
- Loft conversion
- Extension/Conservatory
- New Kitchen
- New Windows
- New Bathroom
“Hello, I’ve come to build your new extension.”
They also explained on that page how much value, on average, each improvement would add to your house.
On househop though, they disagreed.
They felt that the cost of the work involved in doing the above improvements would probably exceed the added value to the house; they felt the most cost-effective way of adding value to your house was:
- Off road parking
- Landscaped, family friendly garden
- Decorating with neutral colours
- New bathroom
- Double glazing
But what’s the advice here in Australia?
Australia
Next, I went to Google Australia and put in the same search term, “top 5 home improvements for adding value” and selected results from Australia only.
Top of the results for this search was renovationplanning, unfortunately as at May 2015 the site is no longer active, but this is what they had to say at the time…
- Add a swimming pool
- Build a home theatre
- Add a rainwater tank
- Build in home automation
- Add an outdoor kitchen
Can you spot the difference?
“Hello, I’ve come to fit your swimming pool.”
The second result in the results was from the same website, but this time the page was about 10 easy ways to add value to your home. Here are the top five:
- De-clutter to create more space
- Open up! Knock out a wall
- Landscaping
- Let in the light
- Lower the homes energy and water bills
Obviously this isn’t the most scientific examination of home improvements between the UK and Australia you will ever come across, but I think the suggestions for each country tell a story on their own.
We can all draw our own conclusions from these lists; I’m going to draw just one.
Australia, great for the outdoor life.
What one conclusion would you draw? You can comment below…
