Are en suites worth it?

En suite toilets and bathrooms are the worst possible way of increasing the value of North East home – and could even could cost homeowners money.With the cost of the building and install...

En suite toilets and bathrooms are the worst possible way of increasing the value of North East home – and could even could cost homeowners money.

With the cost of the building and installation of an average en suite bathroom estimated at £4000, the building work would need to raise the value of an average North East home (£144,872) by at least 3% for home owners to break even on their investment.

Although this is possible, Ajay Jagota of North East-based sales and lettings business KIS believes that “space is key” to selling or renting out a house, concluding “en suites can't help put cost it”.

Adding additional bedrooms with a loft conversion or extension could raise the value of a property in the region by as much as 50% - adding £72,000 to the value of a typical North East home.

A semi-detached property in Sunderland with three bedrooms instead of two will increase income for landlords by £852 a year – and raise the price of a Newcastle home by £39,000.

Ajay Jagota, founder and Chief Executive Officer of KIS said: “The key to selling or renting a property is space. En suites can't help but cost you that.

I'd estimate that a decent en suite will add 3% to the value of your home. To put that into context, you're probably looking at a 2% increase for a tidy garden, and a simple lick of paint could be the difference between a sale or no sale.

What you've really got to consider then is the impact on the saleability of your house of home improvements like en suites. What to you might seem like the height of sophistication and luxury might seem like relieving yourself in a cupboard centimetres away from your partner's head to a potential buyer.

Even in the rental sector all the evidence suggests that people are prepared to pay for extra useable space, so my advice would be to think long and hard before reducing the space of any of your rooms.

This is symptomatic of a larger cultural change we've been seeing in the rental sector over recent years – people are increasingly planning to stay in rented properties indefinitely, even choosing them for family homes. As such things like gardens, garages and in particular the space for family to expand are increasingly critical.”