How to add £thousands to your home

Simple home-staging and a smarten-up can accelerate your sale and maximise your profit.

Homes are selling faster than ever at record prices according to Rightmove. The asking price of a home in London at present stands at nearly £690,000 and with demand outstripping supply, now is a great time to sell.

Regardless of how hot or otherwise the market, it is quite possible to add to the value of your property and speed up your sale. A spruce up, a few tweaks and some careful dressing could net you tens of thousands of pounds on top of your initial valuation.

MAXIMISE THE AVAILABLE SPACE

To prepare your home to sell first ensure that it is sparklingly clean. Here are some top spring-cleaning tips from Fine & Country to get you started. Decluttering may not be our favourite task but once it is done your home will have more storage and feel more spacious to potential buyers. Take out the things that aren’t relevant to somebody else’s lifestyle so buyers can imagine living there.

Home staging is great investment to increase a property’s desirability. It is the art of styling to show a property in its best possible light. Spending £1,000 on getting your house ready for sale can easily get you £10,000 extra on the asking price according to Fine & Country.

There are plenty of ­home staging professionals who will help but if you don’t need the full service, some small tweaks could make a big difference.

WHICH DOOR COLOURS ADD THE MOST VALUE TO YOUR HOME?

Colour is a powerful tool to communicate action, influence choice and even change people’s mood. The colour of your front door can influence a buyer’s initial perception.

According to research conducted by Sellhousefast.uk a blue front door can add £4,000 to your house value. However, the least valuable door colour is brown, which can decrease the value by £700. Adding new hardware (a letterbox, number, and knocker) and freshening up any fencing can really make a difference.

TWEAK WINDOWS, GARDENS AND PLANTING FOR KERB APPEAL

When it comes to the exterior, a few small changes to your garden could make your home more attractive to potential buyers. Take a day to clean your windows, mow the lawn (stripes look fantastic to buyers) and get rid of any weeds.

Take out dead plants, old foliage and prune back overhanging or overgrown shrubs. Plug any gaps with some new plants. Consider adding a decorative mulch, such as bark or cocoa shells for a proper show garden finish.

Owners selling flats might not have a lawn to mow or a garden to tidy, but sellers should give the communal front door a wipe down, tidy away clutter from common areas and ask neighbours to keep bicycles and buggies out of hallways.

Remember that you are selling, not staying. Nothing overly ambitious is required here, just good quality window dressing. Show your property in its very best light, without splashing out on new features that may not get you a return.