An extra bathroom adds nearly £12,000 to the value of a three bedroom property in the UK and makes it more desirable to buyers, according to new research.
According to estate agents, a property should have two bathrooms for every three bedrooms and for those on a budget a shower room adds just as much value.
Overall some 70% of agents believe that bathrooms can help to sell a house, according to a study by Direct Line Home Insurance. The analysis says that a three bed home would ideally have an average of 1.8 bathrooms, a four bed 2.6 and a five bed 3.5.
Across the UK, estate agents estimate that an extra bathroom would add 6.8% to the value of a standard three bed property amounting to nearly £12,000 and 6.2% of £17,000 to a four bed property.
The overwhelming majority, some 95%, of estate agents believe that four and five bed properties need to have more than one bathroom and 43% think that a five bed property should have at least three bathrooms.
On a regional basis, estate agents in Liverpool believe that there should be twice as many bathrooms per three bed property than those in Cardiff at 2.6 bathrooms and 1.3 bathrooms.
An extra bathroom is estimated to add the most value to three bed properties in Nottingham at 9.4% while in Edinburgh it adds the lowest value but still a substantial 5.3%. An extra bathroom adds the most financial value to a property in London at £26,485.
With space at a premium in many UK homes, some 57% of estate agents believe that a shower room adds as much value to a property as a bathroom, especially among younger home owners without children.
An en-suite shower room is estimated to add 5.1% to the value of a property worth £10,500. With the average cost of installing a new bathroom estimated at between £4,000 and £5,000, this represents a return on investment of around 200%.
‘As a new bathroom can add around £12,000 to the value of a home, which compared to the cost of fitting one, is a significant return and may be a good option for people wishing to improve their home but without the space to add an extra bedroom or improve their kitchen,’ said Rebecca Clapham, head of household products at Direct Line.
However, while extra bathrooms do add value to homes, 86% of estate agents reported that a new kitchen would be more desirable while 91% said another bedroom would be more desirable.
