Revealed: The renovations that offer the best return on investment

From kitchen improvements to building an extension, new research unveils top ways to add value to your home in the shortest space of time and in particular parts of the country.

The study, undertaken by Safestore, looked at the return on investment of popular updates, popular renovations by UK cities, and the value of bedrooms to house prices, by analysing property listings on Zoopla.

The home improvement study revealed that 15% of homeowners are opting to improve their property as opposed to upping sticks due to the unpredictable nature of the existing housing market.

As well as creating nicer surroundings, refurbishing different areas of a home can add significant value, both in terms of capital appreciation and rental returns, with lofts and kitchens adding the most value to a home.

The study suggests that with an average cost of £1,300, new boilers/heating systems can boost your home’s value by almost 2%, and have the biggest return on investment in our study.

Refurbished kitchens and lofts can bolster a home’s value by more than 8% but their respective level of investment places them slightly lower.

Meanwhile, a renovated garage or storage area can set you back up to £7,000, but offer less than 1% of a home value increase in return, which ranks only above solar panels in terms of ROI (0.5%).

The research also goes into more depth to find how popular these different home features are in different parts of the UK based on property listing sites.

Open plan often give homeowners the feeling of more space in their home, so it understandable that close to half - 44% - of listed London properties are open plan, and 16% are described as refurbished.

In terms of renovating, lofts are often on the pricier side, but 37% of Bristol homes see their value, as well as just under a third of homes in both Birmingham and Cardiff.

Of all the cities featured in the research, Edinburgh (17%) and Leeds (14%) offer the highest proportion of extensions listed, with a UK average of 11%.

Making more environmental domestic decisions is extremely on trend for homeowners. Smart tech is found as being most popular in Leeds (3%), while the previous government led initiatives have meant that solar panels are most rife in Glasgow (5%).

A surprising discovery from the research is the popularity of wet rooms, which are advertised in around 5% of homes in Leeds and Cardiff.

If you own a property that has the potential to add an additional bedroom, then it might be of financial interest to renovate. Safestore looked at the average value of one- to four-bedroom homes in nine major UK cities to find the true value in upgrading:

Northern Renovation - While their property values average a lot lower than many other UK cities, homes Newcastle and Leeds add 50% to the value of their home with every bedroom added, according to the prices shown on Zoopla.

Wales & Scotland - Outside of the top two, Cardiff and Glasgow offer the highest increase in property value per added bedroom, adding over £65,000 to the average listing.

London Calling - In the nation's capital, the value of a one-bed is higher than 2 beds in any other part of the country, so it’s not surprising to learn that the price of a home increased by over £200,000 for an additional room.

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