How much value does an extra bedroom add?

[Jennys2108]

I have a 3 bed house in south manchester. We could add a 2 storey extension adding a study, living room, double bedroom and bathroom. Haven 't asked how much this would cost but I'm guessing £60k+. Would we make this back? Think the house would sell for about £350k now

Thanks!

It is probably best to ask a local estate agent as they will know your area best.

Really hard to say without knowing your area, but I wouldn't count on it. Have a look at houses for sale, locally, with 4 beds and similar specs (size, baths, reception rooms) as your house with the proposed extension. You tend to find that localities have ceiling prices, which don't always increase much with house size. In simplistic terms: why buy a big house in a crap area when you can buy an adequate house in a great area? Not saying your area is crap, but if your house is nearing the ceiling price, no extension will pay back on resale.

More important to focus on whether you need the extension for £60K, or will it bring you £60k worth of pleasure.

a lot of people do extensions/loft conversions etc to 'add value' not because they need the extra space and it does quite often backfire. You lose garden space, can sometimes end up with an odd layout, area ceiling price as sandthorn says.

If you need an extra room, not a bedroom but extra space then you would be better spending £5k on a very decent log cabin space in the garden IMO. can be a home office/hobbyroom/playroom and so on for an awful lot less money and hassle.

Jenny depends where you are in South Manchester and whether there is a desire for a large 4 bed in your road / area. I am also in south Manchester - depending on where you are, I would think first of all that you'd struggle to get what sounds like quite a big extension for £60k, but that you would (generally speaking) get it back (if not more). As I said, it can vary massively depending on whether you're in a "desirable" part of south manc, have a look at what similar sized 4 beds are selling for (not their advertised price, what they actually sell for) and see if that warrants the spend. Also, don't forget it's your home so if the extra space would make life easier / more comfortable, then if you can afford it, it might be worth while anyway, irrespective of value. But I would think its highly unlikely in south manc (unless you go OTT with high end fittings etc) that the property value wouldn't increase by at least the amount you spend.

Definitely ask a local agent. Pose it as a 'can't decide whether to move or whether its worth the cost and hassle extend', so need a current valuation and an estimate of value with extension. Then bear in mind they will probably be trying to encourage you to move.

I agree an EA will not give reliable advice. They want the commission associated with your sale (and obviously them or another agent stands to benefit from the commission on a property you buy) so unless you're dealing with an honest estate agent fat chance they're bound to slant the figures to encourage you to move rather invest in your current property.

Are you in south manc mary?