Sellers look to home improvements to boost property value

Posted: 06 Aug 2008 13:13:10 GMT

Homeowners are making improvements to their property in the hope of making it more attractive to prospective buyers.

That is according to research by Lloyds TSB, which showed that would-be sellers are applying for personal loans to pay for home improvements before they put their property back on the market.

Of those surveyed 55 per cent were making improvements to their property in the hope that they would be able to boost their chances of selling.

David Wishart, director of personal loans at Lloyds TSB, explained the phenomenon: "In recent months we have seen a significant increase in home improvement personal loan requests."

He continued: "If you want to trade up and avoid substantially increasing your mortgage, you'll need to add value to the house you're currently in."

Lloyds TSB asked both estate agents and homeowners which features they thought were most likely to sell their homes and 79 per cent believed a new kitchen would appeal to buyers whilst 59 per cent felt a new bathroom would give their property the edge.

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