5 Design Features to Consider Before Putting Your House on the Market

In this post, we’re sharing five design features to consider before putting your house on the market in 2023.

[AD] As conveyancing solicitors in Winchester and surrounding areas prepare for the increase in enquiries that April usually brings, house prices in the UK continue to decrease slowly. For those looking to sell in 2023, there are some key features which may help to boost the value of your home and help you to sell more quickly.

Keep reading for five design features to consider before putting your house on the market.

1.   Kitchen designs

Since the COVID-19 pandemic sent the UK into lockdown, staying in is still the new going out for many people. For a significant number of UK residents, the kitchen is the heart of the home for dining and relaxing with friends and family.

For 2023, there are a couple of key kitchen trends which may help with your house sale and, these are:

• Shaker style – Enduringly popular, the simplicity of the shaker style door offers clean lines and unfussy elegance which has a great appeal to buyers. If your budget doesn’t stretch to a full shaker kitchen refit, having your cabinet doors and drawer fronts replaced is a less expensive solution.

• Kitchen islands – The multipurpose nature of a kitchen island makes it a winner with buyers as it offers storage and more space for cooking prep as well as a breakfast bar which can be used for eating and relaxing with family and friends.

2.   Eco-friendly features

As the world skids toward the goals of the 2030 environmental agenda, a great number of buyers are actively looking for homes which include eco features, including:

• Water saving features such as tap aerators and low flow shower heads
• Charging points for electric vehicles
• Smart sockets
• Solar panels – these are a much-desired eco feature, however, they are not suitable or available for every home so you will need to do your research on this one to see if it’s a practical solution for your property
• LED lighting
• Double glazing

Getting onboard with green features will not only potentially add value to your home but will also save you cash in the meantime, even if an upfront financial investment is required.

3.   House exterior

Still as important as ever is the first impression of your property – if the exterior of your home is tired or tatty, this can significantly decrease its value. In 2023, exterior stone cladding is hugely popular and, depending on the size of your property, updating your home this way won’t break the bank – but will give you a significant return on your investment.

4.   Outdoor spaces

If you have a garden, patio or yard, you’ll want to make sure that it’s ready for its close up before putting your house on the market. A well-presented garden can add up to 20% to the value of your house so this one is well worth the work.

Make sure that your garden is neat and tidy and be sure to highlight the sunniest part of the garden by adding a seating area or interesting water feature. Another key point for gardens is maintenance – as people have increasingly busy lives, many are looking for an easy-care garden so bear this in mind before putting in extra plants or bushes.

5.   Living space

When it comes to buying a new home, the focus for many people in 2023 is lifestyle space. A lot of people now work from home which means they’re looking for extra room where possible, this could be to create a home office or a hobby hub. For this reason, adding extra an extra room could be a complete game changer for many potential sellers.  

Someone looking to add a room to their home could consider adding a conservatory, a summer house or having the loft converted into a living space – all of which can add a considerable amount of value to your property.

Refresh and update for a quicker sale…

In order to make your home as competitive as possible, there is a chance, as we’ve demonstrated in this article, that you may need to spend a bit of cash on updates and desirable features. While the idea of making such investments in the current economic climate may be daunting, some of these amendments can make a very big difference when it comes to the value of your home.

As well as adding the features described in this article, there are other less expensive ways of making your home look more appealing. For example, you could declutter the house entirely to make the space seem larger and giving the interior a fresh coat of paint could also add brightness to rooms. Both of these examples serve to present potential buyers with a blank canvas making it easier for them to imagine their home with their own stamp on it – and this will often lead to a quicker sale.

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