How Much Value Does a New Kitchen Add To Your Home?

Imagine looking at a home you are interested in buying. The front garden looks great, the front door is clean and sturdy, the hallway and living room are newly decorated, clean and tidy, the dining room is a great size and in great condition, but as soon as you step foot into the kitchen, you can see that it is old, unclean and hasn't been updated in a long time.

A bad kitchen can easily put prospective buyers off making an offer on a property.

A high quality kitchen creates a great first impression

Now, imagine you step into the kitchen and you see a high quality, sturdy and beautiful kitchen that makes great use of the space and fits in well with the design of the rest of the house. A new, high quality kitchen can make a house so much more desirable than an old, outdated kitchen.

Kitchens are becoming the heart of every home

Many expert articles talk about how updating your kitchen can add value to your home, especially as open plan kitchen and dining areas have risen in popularity in recent years, making the kitchen much more of a focal point in the house than it was before. No longer is the kitchen just a place to cook food and clean dishes, it is a place to socialise, watch TV, eat, drink, so for families or anyone who ever entertains guests, a good kitchen is hugely important.

How much value does a new kitchen add to your home?

According to figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) a new kitchen can add as much as 4% to the value of your house. Which? research found that a new kitchen could and could add 6% (average £18,000) in value to the home.

Many experts do, however mention that you should consider the overall value of your home. For example, if you live in a home worth £80,000 and you spend £100,000 on the kitchen, that alone is unlikely to push the value up to £180,000. And similarly, if you live in a property worth £800,000, a £8,000 kitchen is unlikely to add significant value.

A new kitchen, however also enhances your experience of living in your home, before selling, so the added value shouldn't be the only consideration when deciding whether to purchase. You can tie the home together well by choosing a style that fits perfectly with the rest of the house, be it contemporary, modern or traditional.

By choosing the right kitchen for your house and making sure you go for one that is well made and well fitted, you reduce the chances of potential buyers leaving with a bad impression. In fact, you may just convince them to put in an offer.