The real cost of renovating a home

The real cost of renovating a home – ww.archilovers.com

With the property market on an incline, This is Money has revealed that 35% of UK residents are having to opt for a home that is in need of renovating in order to be able to afford to get themselves onto the property ladder.

Per their data, the:

Average UK house price (as of Jan 2016) is £196,829.
Average cost of property that needs work is £152,792.
Average cost of renovation is £33,039.
The cost of buying a home and renovating it themselves is £185,831, resulting in a saving of £10,998.

But are we all saving money by doing this? The survey also revealed that 10% of buyers end up living in the home before the project is complete, and 45% end up exceeding their original budget. So, it is worth it?

Bedroom furniture specialists Oldrids & Downtown have delved into some research surrounding home improvement to help you make an informed decision when it comes to making your next purchase.

Locations
Further research carried out by Barbour ABI in Home Improvers of Great Britain 2016 was able to identify the most – and least – likely locations in the UK to carry out a home improvement project.

Most likely districts for home improvement

Kensington and Chelsea
Westminster
Uttlesford
Hammersmith and Fulham
South Bucks

Least likely districts for home improvement

Blackpool
Stoke on Trent
West Dunbartonshire
Redditch
Glasgow

The factors that influence price…
A renovation can be a huge project to take on so we recommend that you take into consideration all the factors that can influence the cost of the project.

The size and style of the home

The size of the property can influence the cost of renovation. The larger the property, the more likely you are to spend more. This is because you have more floor space to conquer and potentially more storeys. You might even need to rent a self storage in Chelsea, Kensington or wherever your district is, to store your belongings during the renovation.

The postcode of the home
Your postcode can affect the price of multiple factors when buying a home, most often home insurance and house prices, but it can also influence the cost of a renovation project.

Other features of the home
As aforementioned, the size of the property can impact the cost of the project, so we advise you to take into consideration the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and garages the property has when purchasing.

Homebuilding & Renovating has a calculator to give a guide to the cost.

Estimated cost of the project
A renovation project seems like a daunting task to take on but if you break it down into smaller tasks, you can tackle them individually and being able to calculate the cost of the project along the way. We recommend that you use this checklist as a quick calculation of what the average renovation project can cost. However, remember that the size, style and postcode can influence the cost a great deal.

Task	Estimated cost on average 3-bed home*
Adding a bathroom	£2,500
Adding a kitchen	£4,500
Adding central heating	£5,000
Removing damp	£2,000
Removing dry rot	£1,000
Fixing collapsing ceilings (related to damp)	£500 per room
Plastering	£3,000
Replacing the roof	£3,000
Replacing roof tiles	£200
Replacing drains	£800
Replacing windows	£500
Replacing doors	£700
Wiring	£3,000

*Estimate supplied by Homebuilding & Renovating

Key home improvement trends
In further published research, Bathrooms 365 stated that new building projects by the government has created more opportunities within the home improvement industry. This is a relief to the market following a difficult time when 60 B&Q stores were forecasted to close, but now the interest in the market has increased, as has the sales now showing a healthy progression.

The study noted key trends in home improvement and renovation: