Want to maximise the value of your properties for sale or rent? According to Archicentre’s David Hallet, the money is in the bedroom.
The housing and rental shortage in Australia, combined with older children remaining at home much longer, has placed a premium value on bedrooms, a trend renovators and investors can benefit from.
The quickest way to increase the value of a two-bedroom home in a suburb for young families is to add a bedroom. This could lift the home immediately into a new price bracket with the potential to add another $50,000 to $60,000 in value for a modest cost.
Unfortunately, many renovators and investors who get caught up in “the glamour quick make-over” fail to take into account market demands or make the mistake of purchasing a property without having any concept of the renovation which can maximise their potential return.
The classic example was the young couple who spent around $50,000 turning a third bedroom into an ensuite and walk-in wardrobe in a suburb where homes with three and four bedrooms were in high demand for a family-orientated market.
This meant in this market place, despite the renovation, the home fell into the lower price bracket when it was put up for sale despite $40,000 to $50,000 being spent on the renovation.
Bedrooms of today are not just for sleeping but are also being increasingly used as a sanctuary away from the rest of the home with their own television or entertainment systems.
Bedrooms are also often linked to the outdoors either by decks or small porches with views to the garden or private courtyards.
Natural light through glazed doors, highlight windows, clerestory windows or roof windows provides a link to the outside world and of course a warm spot during the day to enjoy the sun with a good book.
The bedroom, a value for money renovation
The bedroom is good value for money in the renovation stakes as it not only is one of the less expensive renovations with no need for plumbing or other costly services. It is also a smaller separate room with basic facilities such as built-in wardrobes.
The bedroom is also a flexible room which can easily be converted into a home office or a study with minimal effort and then converted back into a bedroom when needed. This flexibility, especially if it is under an existing roof line, adds to the property’s marketability.
Archicentre carries out thousands of pre-purchase inspections for prospective home buyers and investors related to the quality of properties. People buying to renovate want the best ways to maximise their return on the property and an Archicentre Design Concept outlines the feasibility and expected costs.
Bedrooms are always high on the agenda because of their flexibility and relative low cost to renovate — that is why the money is in the bedroom.
Archicentre publishes a Free Cost Guide for renovators on its website at archicentre.com.au
By David Hallett
Image: The main bedroom in a recent renovation by architect Leon Moulton.
From Renovate magazine Vol. 8 No. 5
