The work-from-home setup that would elevate your home worth by £40,000

[ad_1] There are specific options which have lengthy been in favour for serving to so as to add worth to a home worth, together with a driveway and south-facing backyard.

Then there are newer developments which have more and more caught the eye of property brokers and consumers - together with one which gained momentum following the primary pandemic lockdown in 2020.

That's devoted workplace house, which could be “extremely sought-after” and will even add as a lot as 15 per cent to a house worth in some instances, in line with a brand new estimate shared with The Unbiased.

Whereas lockdown and full-time working from residence could seem a distant reminiscence, it modified the everyday working week mannequin for a lot of employers, with a combination of distant hours and attendance at fundamental firm headquarters not unusual as we speak.

Moreover, a report final yr from the British Enterprise Financial institution discovered nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of one-person companies function from residential premises or are cell. For many individuals, an expert residence workspace is extremely necessary.

Figures from property web site Zoopla present round 82,000 residential properties listed function an workplace in the home, throughout January 2026.

It's not solely itemizing numbers with this function which have risen: recent analysis from property company Benham & Reeves suggests home costs can get a significant elevate from workplace house. So how a lot may one be value?

How a lot can an workplace add to deal with costs?

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, says in quite a lot of eventualities, a devoted workplace house “is not a ‘good to have’, it’s change into a extremely sought-after function as a result of it gives the privateness, construction, and practicality that hybrid working calls for”.

He provides: “Properties that may supply a real workspace, whether or not that’s a transformed room, a backyard workplace, or a purpose-built outbuilding, have a tendency to face out way more strongly out there and appeal to extra critical purchaser curiosity.”

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The agency checked out wider market home worth averages in addition to costs of properties with a house workplace on itemizing websites in contrast with these with out, bearing in mind varied residence workplace choices.

Primarily based on the common UK home costs, Benham & Reeves discovered that an inside-the-home workplace house which exists in a devoted room may give a lift in extra of an estimated £40,000.

The total estimates are within the desk beneath, with added worth primarily based on the common home worth of £270,873, taken from Nationwide’s Home Value Index report final month.

Workplace sort

Estimated worth added (%)

Estimated worth added (£)

Shed/small backyard workplace

5.0%

£13,544

Outbuilding/summer season home/giant backyard workplace

7.5%

£20,315

Inside workplace/devoted current room

15.2%

£41,173

Bryn Nettle, head of enterprise improvement at property consultancy Strettons additionally sees progress potential.

He says: “If designed and offered effectively, a devoted residence workplace can add significant worth, in some instances round £20,000–£25,000 relying on the property sort and site.”

Nettle continues: “The bottom line is high quality and performance. A well-insulated backyard studio with energy, heating and broadband connectivity will command a premium over a makeshift desk in a spare bed room. Consumers are ready to pay extra for house that feels purposeful and everlasting, slightly than momentary.”

Naturally, these are simply from averages and particular person properties will rely on market elements, demand, location, dimension and extra.

Will demand stay stable?

Nettle says that whereas houses with devoted workplace house are actually extra fascinating in as we speak’s market, Strettons has not seen constant proof that they promote materially quicker than these with out workplaces.

Laura Dam Villena, head of residential company at actual property advisory firm Cluttons, believes a house workplace is now seen as a bonus for consumers, slightly than a significant requirement.

She says within the post-pandemic rush of consumers searching for their long-term houses, “it was nearly a necessity that consumers would demand an additional bed room for ‘a work at home’ house in prime central London and past”.

Dam Villena provides: “The momentum of this demand has slowed down in central London, as main corporations are implementing stricter return to work insurance policies, with this development anticipated to extend in 2026.”

Do your homework on residence workplaces

Whereas there could be a lot of comfort and attraction for having a house workplace, together with the prospect of your property worth climbing, constructing one carries necessary tax concerns, in line with Lisa Wilson, head of tax at accountancy group Cowgills.

Amongst details to pay attention to embrace that workers can solely declare working-from-home tax reduction the place residence working is required, not chosen. Or that for self-employed people, development or conversion prices for a house workplace usually are not tax-deductible, however ongoing repairs and redecorating are allowable.

Wilson says understanding related guidelines early “will help owners maximise the advantages of a house workplace whereas avoiding sudden tax prices with regards to promoting their property”.