For many homeowners, a house is a place to live first and foremost, with the idea of adding extra elements like extensions or garden rooms as a means of making it an even more enjoyable place to reside.
However, there is no doubt that even if it is not your primary reason for doing so, adding an attractive garden room can also boost your home’s potential sale price.
There are times when that may be a very shrewd move, not least when the property market is in a weak state and your home is not gaining in value much - or perhaps even falling.
Such a scenario was expected by most commentators over the course of 2023 amid the cost-of-living crisis, weak economy, and a series of interest rate rises that made mortgages much more expensive.
In the event, the overall UK market has proved much more resilient than that, with the latest data, from the Halifax and Nationwide house price indexes, both showing that although March saw a little dip in prices, overall they have risen slightly in the last 12 months and have been generally static across the last two years.
Unfortunately for those living in southern counties like East and West Sussex, there is an underlying regional trend that is significantly less favourable.
In particular, Nationwide highlighted that Northern Ireland enjoyed 4.6 per cent annual growth, Scotland 3.7 per cent, the northern and central English regions a collective 1.7 per cent and Wales 1.2 per cent. By contrast, the regions south of the Severn-Wash line (London, the south east, south west and East) saw a 0.3 per cent decline.
Of course, the market circumstances may change over time; factors like a stronger economy and lower interest rates may see property values rise significantly again.
However, by adding value with a garden room, you can take a tangible step towards increasing the worth of your home no matter how well or badly the property market is doing regionally or nationally. It is an investment you can enjoy today and potentially cash in on in the future.