Loft or utility?

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We have some money to either create a loft extension or add a downstair bathroom with utility plus move the kitchen to one of the reception rooms. Which one adds more value?

Loft extension 100% as it is creating more space. Not everyone would want that downstairs layout whereas everyone wants more space!

What do you need/want the space to do?

I'd also consider how many bedrooms you have and whether converting the loft will make your house top heavy. Generally though an extra bedroom will obviously add a fair bit of value. It's just some buyers might be put off if the kitchen/living areas are cramped.

We also had some money to do either do a back extension for kitchen diner and turn old kitchen into utility and ensuite or we could do a loft conversion. We opted for the loft conversion. We doubled the number of bedrooms and it afforded me a nice little office for when I work from home. I can't imagine how I would have worked if we had done the downstairs work first.

It really depends on what you want out of the space. We definitely needed more bedrooms as we had just had DC2 but the kitchen diner utility ensuite were 'wants' rather than needs. We plan to do the 'wants' in a few years' time when our finances recover.

Ah sorry is the bathroom/utility option an extension? I may have misunderstood

Loft will probably add more value

Do what suits your life better, but put the planning permission in for the whole lot. So when you come to sell if the buyers wants the extra bit its sold with planning already in place.

Renovation costs are so high at the moment that unless you are staying in your house a very long time i.e ten years then you might not get back the amount you have spent when you sell.

I agree with @Geneticsbunny that you won't necessarily get your money back either way, so I would personally only make major changes if they are essential for your needs and you don't envisage moving house for some time.

@CellophaneFlower 's point is also key in terms of the layout / space. A house near me went from a 3 bed to a 5 bed house, but the living space was not sufficient for a family and it ended up selling for the same price as a nicely done 3 bed in the same street.

It depends on so many factors, there's not a binary answer.

Could you have an upstairs utility as part of the loft conversion? No idea on what would do to sale price but it's convenient to have your washer/dryer near your clothes (unless you're an outside line drier). We couldn't squeeze in a full utility but our washer and dryer are stacked in a landing cupboard and it saves so much time not trekking up and down with all the laundry. Also frees up a bit of kitchen space so even if you didn't extend you would still have a tiny bit more room to work with downstairs.