They were once considered a luxurious extension of your home. But conservatories can now lower the value of your property by as much as £15,000 when you come to sell it, estate agents warn.
Homeowners are removing traditional conservatories or spending thousands of pounds converting them for fear they could hurt their house price and scare off future buyers.
Greenhouse sales increased in the early 1900s. They were marketed to homeowners as a great way to add a room for a fraction of the cost of a brick and mortar extension – and came with the added bonus of bursts of glorious sunshine streaming in through the roof.
But 20 years later, realtors say extensions built during the 2000s “greenhouse boom” are now considered outdated and energy inefficient by most buyers.
Tired: Realtors say conservatories built during the boom of the 2000s are now considered outdated and energy inefficient by the majority of buyers
The number of home buyers who now include greenhouses as a criterion has fallen off a cliff. Some buyers even refuse to view homes under construction.
The number of homes coming onto the market with conservatories has plummeted by 52 percent between 2012 and 2022, according to real estate search website Rightmove.
And only 77,000 new greenhouses were built in 2017, compared to about half a million in 2006, according to the most recent official figures – an 84 percent decrease.
According to experts, the numbers have probably fallen even further since then.
Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyers Bureau, says a conservatory that gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter can devalue a house by as much as £15,000 because it is ‘effectively useless’.
“An outdated conservatory can be an eyesore and immediately makes for a bad first impression, especially with younger buyers,” he adds.
“If it doesn’t match the overall style of your home, it acts as a deterrent to buying.”
He says it’s also important to consider that many buyers have their own take on renovations and may want to remove the conservatory: ‘They may see it as an expensive problem to solve; the demolition of a conservatory alone costs £2,000.’
“A buyer will ultimately take this into consideration when making an offer on your home, which will lower the price you’re likely to get.
Assuming a good conservatory can add 5 percent [to property values]could see a bad as much as £15,000 wiped out in the opposite direction based on median house prices, says Mr Hodgkinson.
James Powell, of York estate agent Hunters, says homebuyers are now looking for well-insulated extensions.
“We see people turning their conservatories into another room or taking off the traditional glass or plastic roof and replacing it with a real roof,” he says. “Otherwise they’re just useless.”
New construction: Only 77,000 new verandas were built in 2017 compared to about half a million in 2006, the most recent official figures show – an 84% drop
Growing concerns about EPC ratings and rising utility bills mean those who haven’t upgraded to be more energy efficient are now seen as a burden.
The typical cost per hour to heat your sunroom with an oil-filled radiator is 24 pence, according to What Price, which tracks the cost of living. This is based on a heating requirement of 2 kW and an average electricity rate of 12 pence per hour.
If you heated it for six hours a day, seven days a week, it would cost you £10.08 a week – on top of your existing heating bill.
Most conservatories cannot have radiators as part of a home’s central heating system, as it would have to be classified as an extension with added building permits.
Josh Avis, of Phillip Mann estate agents in Seaford, East Sussex, says buyers are looking at EPC ratings and building codes now more than ever.
“Conservatories aren’t energy efficient and if buyers find out they might not be able to do what they want with them for scheduling reasons, like take the doors out or tear down the walls, they don’t want them,” he says.
‘What people want now are conservatories that are partly made of brick or real rooms, instead of conventional glass-panelled conservatories.
‘Houses with sloping roofs with skylights are also becoming a lot more popular as an alternative.’
Geraldine Joaquim, 53, spent £10,000 to upgrade the conservatory roof at her home in West Sussex after barely using it for seven years.
The Petworth-based wellness coach bought her home with a south-facing conservatory in November 2015, thinking it would be lovely to get the sun all day long.
Planning Rules: Most conservatories cannot have radiators as part of a home’s central heating system as it would have to be classified as an extension with added building permits
But she soon realized that the extreme temperatures made the room unusable most of the time.
Geraldine says: ‘In the spring of 2022 I renovated my conservatory. I was thinking about tearing it down and rebuilding it as an extension, but the cost was too high.
‘In the end I chose to spend £10,000 to install insulated roof panels instead.
‘In the old greenhouse, the temperature was regularly above 45 degrees in the summer and around 5 degrees in the winter.’
Another problem, experts warn, is subsidence. There was a record number of claims last year – and since conservatories are not as deeply founded as a house, they are more likely to suffer damage.
Adam Holland, Head of Product at AXA UK, says: ‘The risk of subsidence increases when a conservatory’s foundations are too shallow or built from unsuitable materials.
“While most building insurance policies cover subsidence damage, customers may not be covered if the problem is a result of construction or defects in the building process.”
l.purkess@dailymail.co.uk
Buyers now think conservatories are so boring they’re pushing £15,000 off house prices!
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