The short answer to this is yes a garden office can add value to your home.
In fact, recent research reveals that this unique space-creating solution is the best way to add value to a property.
On average it will cost around £9,000 to build a garden office but can add an average of 8.4% to the value of your home.
Whilst a lot of the value is attributable to the extra space it creates, a garden room can also be modern and stylish, adding to the whole appeal of a property.
Property Centre Guide on Increasing Property Value by Adding a Garden Office
Having a dedicated office space in your property is now a highly desirable selling point. With many people switching to a work-from-home or a hybrid-working lifestyle, more prospective buyers than ever before are looking for this and the value a garden office can add will foreseeably grow over the coming years.
How can a garden office add value?
Increased floor space
Traditional ways to add extra space at home, such as extensions and loft conversions, are huge projects that can be disruptive, overwhelming and expensive. A garden room allows you to add extra space at home cost-effectively, without too much disruption to your home during the construction process.
Additionally, instead of sacrificing a bedroom to create a home office, a garden room allows you to add extra space without removing valuable living areas from inside the house.
Attract buyers who work from home
With hybrid working arrangements, people may not be doing the daily commute to the office anymore, but often they’ll still want the structure of leaving the house to go to work. A garden room offers privacy and provides that physical and mental distance between home life and work life.
Similarly, if your prospective buyer is a small business owner, they may also perceive your property to be of higher value because they could save on rent by working from their garden.
The space is also fully flexible and could be transformed into something else by the next owner – garden rooms work well as home gyms, for example.
Adds a “wow” factor to the property
By opting for a modern and contemporary garden office, you automatically add a “wow” factor to your home. This will help your home stand out from other properties on the market.
How much value does a garden office actually add?
Floor space is one of the major factors when valuing a property, so it makes sense that the extra space provided by a garden office can add 5-10% to the value of your home.
For example, if your home is worth £300,000 then expect an increase of anywhere between £15,000 to £30,000. The exact amount will depend on a number of factors.
Factors that affect how much value a garden office will add
Size
The most obvious factor affecting how much value your garden office will add is how big or small it is; most of the time, the bigger the garden office, the more value it will add, due to the increase in floor space.
Be careful though, as building an office that’s disproportionate to the size of your garden is not the best idea either, as you’ll be losing too much of the garden. Planning permission might also be needed if you build over 50% of the garden area.
Be aware of ceiling prices in areas
If you’ve already exhausted all possible works/improvements on your home, you might already have reached the maximum ceiling price for a property like yours
This sometimes also happens in areas where houses are similar and roads have their own “micro-markets”.
Speak to a local estate agent before building
If you’re hoping to add value to your home, speak to our experienced local valuers about your particular area before building a garden office, to ensure that you’re going to recover your investment. We know the local market better than anyone and can give you an accurate valuation of your home before any potential improvements are made.
For an up-to-date valuation of your home, request a market appraisal from our expert team.
