If your home has been on the market for a while without an offer, you may be considering dropping your asking price. However, there are ways you could potentially add value to your property and increase its desirability to a buyer without discounting the price. Estate agents Harrison Murray lends us some tips on how to do this effectively...

New carpets:

Carpets can make a house look dated more than any other area and they can also give a buyer a reason to make a low offer. A good quality, neutral carpet throughout the house can add several times its cost in the perception that the house has been kept up to date. Re-carpeting is definitely a very worthwhile investment.

Install a new bathroom:

These days, buyers want beautiful bathrooms and if you have any new developments in your area competing with you for buyers, you may find you need to upgrade your bathroom to match. Buyers like to see a power shower, fully tiled walls and towel rails. Bathrooms really matter, so make sure yours has the wow factor.

New flooring in ‘wet’ rooms:

By wet rooms, this means kitchens, utility rooms, cloakrooms and bathrooms; buyers just don’t like to see carpet in these rooms. It doesn’t need to be expensive: in fact there are some fabulous vinyls out there that will only cost a couple of hundred pounds per room. A small spend for a big improvement.

Add a home office:

Most buyers want the ability to work from home these days. Even if they don’t, most like to have a dedicated space in which to keep a computer, paperwork and books. If you have a room in the house that can be dressed as an office, it would be a worthwhile investment to add some contemporary office furniture and smart accessories. If you don’t have any space in the house, can you add one outside, in the form of a garden office? Such a special selling feature could really give your property the edge over your competitors.

Update your kitchen:

Sellers are often reluctant to update their kitchen in case the buyer doesn’t like it. But as long as you pick a neutral colour and design that is in keeping with your property, it will be seen as a definite plus by your buyer. The perceived value of a new kitchen is much higher than the actual cost in the majority of cases and with high street kitchens available fully fitted for a very reasonable price it could be the uplift your property needs.

Giving the buyer what they need is not always about price; increasing its value may just get your home sold for more!